


The Tacenda Effect

by Little_Comett



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Mettaton loves the hell out of Papyrus, No More Resets (Undertale), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, SANS IS TALL, Sans Has Issues, Sans Has Night Terrors, Sans Makes Puns, Scientist W. D. Gaster, Slow Burn, Undertale Monsters on the Surface, Younger Brother Sans, established relationships - Freeform, lots of puns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-01-30 02:06:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 32,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12643944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Comett/pseuds/Little_Comett
Summary: Tacenda - Things not to be mentioned or made public; things better left unsaid.He knew full-well that this story of his should not be shared.  Yet, as he ran boney phalanges over the rough surface of his eye-socket and down the crack that stopped just above his teeth, he wanted nothing more than to let the words spill from his mouth.  To let all the tears spill down his cheeks and ramble on about what had happened that made him so broken.  Then maybe, just maybe, the weight on his chest could finally be lifted.//Some scenes were inspired by the comic series Handplates.  I do NOT own Handplates, and I take no credit.  No scene is copied directly, only inspired by the comics./////This story has been DISCONTINUED.  Sorry!





	1. Prologue

            _“_ _I CAN’T SEE! I CAN’T SEE, BROTHER!”_ _A voice wailed through the halls, ringing clear through to the other side of the building._

_A small skeleton sat on a metal table, clutching at his skull frantically, screams shaking his body and forcing his bones to rattle with the tremor. Small fingers hooked on the outline of the left socket, still perfectly intact. Frantically, fingers tried to find the bone on the right side, and another wail left the mouth of the skeleton as they found none._

_“Shut up! Shut up!”_

_The scientist on the other side of the glass was howling furious curses and complaints, fingers pounding on the keyboard frantically. Screams of a different voice wailed from the door behind him, fists pounding on the door._

_“Sir, what happened?! What happened, Sir!?”_

_The scientist hissed, looking at the shaking skeleton on the table, who was still screaming in pain and terror._

_The top-right half of the small skeleton’s skull was completely gone, ending at the corner of his mouth. He let out another wail of agony, cyan tears pouring down the left side of his eye. A bright blue flame had erupted from the still intact socket, the last source of the poor monster’s magic._

_“_ _YOU TOOK MY EYE! I CAN’T SEE! I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING! BROTHER HELP ME, PLEASE!”_ _The skeleton sobbed._

_“Shut up!” The scientist howled, storming from behind the glass._

_He tore the restraints off the small experiment, grabbing his shoulders and shoving him off the bed. The skeleton frantically scrambled away, before his legs gave out and he’d collapsed to the floor, landing face-first on the stained tile and knocking himself out._

            Jolting awake from the bed, cyan tears spilled down white cheekbones, illuminating the once pitch black room. Hands jolted up to their owner’s skull, instantly touching bone that was there, but once not. Boney fingers traced the smooth, perfect socket of the left eye, before moving to the right eye. The bone around the entire eye was rough, and slightly uneven, and faded into a small crack that stopped just above the monster’s mouth.

            The right eye was not illuminated as the left eye blazed with familiar blue flame. Hands shaking, they dropped back onto the bed. Fingers gripped at the sheets, the head of a very broken skeleton lowering to stare down at his tear stained shorts, before a loud wail escaped the mouth of the owner.

            **_*but no one came…_**

 

            Fingers padded on the keyboard gently, emitting a soft clicking sound throughout the dark room, only illuminated by the light of the computer screen. A figure was slouched lazily in the rather uncomfortable chair, legs pulled to their chest while their gaze was focused on the screen in front of them. Eyes snapped down toward the time in the bottom right corner of the screen.

            _1:46 a.m._

The girl in the chair let out a sigh, before continuing to tap at the keyboard. She was bundled up in a rather large blanket, the only parts of her showing were her head and arms. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, though it was rather messy, and her bangs fell to the sides of her face (though mostly to the left side). It was clear that the young woman had been up all night.

            Finally, the clicking stopped, and she slouched back in her chair. She let out a groan, arms sagging down to her sides. A dog’s head moved up to meet her hand, a way to attempt to get attention. Of course, the animal’s charm worked, and her hand went to gently stroking the dog’s white fur.

            “I know, Asclepius[1],” she sighed, “it’s too late to be up right now.”

            She was very grateful for her college courses, more so because she was paying every bit of it herself. Yet, when it came to nights such as this, when she was staying up into all hours of the night just to finish a report or an essay, she found herself slightly regretting the decision. Her job often kept her from having time in the day to do the work, and she couldn’t obviously do it _in_ her classes due to the actual lectures. So, when she wasn’t in class, she was at work. And when she wasn’t at either, she was up all night working on homework.

            The girl finally stood up, keeping herself wrapped up in the blanket as she walked across the cheap complex and to what she could call a kitchen. She opened the fridge, eyes scanning for anything that could be considered a “midnight” snack.

            A sigh escaped her lips, and she shut the door of the fridge when she found nothing that was a simple snack. Her eyes landed on the sticky note placed conveniently (and tauntingly) on her fridge.

            _Grocery List_

  * __Food__


  * _Tampons_



 

 _‘What an ironic grocery list,’_ she thought stubbornly.

            With a small huff, she turned on her heel and began walking to her bedroom. She entered the room, but not before making sure to save the document on her computer, and flopped into the twin sized bed. The blanket fell over her figure, her arms moving to hug the only pillow on the bed.

            The young woman’s eyes drifted toward the alarm clock beside her bed.

_Nearly 2:00 a.m._

            She sighed, looking away, and toward the husky-lab mutt who’d taken to sleeping at her side. The dog’s mismatched      eyes stared into oppositely mismatched eyes, before he let out a small ‘yip’, and licked her face. She let out a laugh, wiping the dampness from her face and moving her arms to instead hug the dog.

            It occurred to her just how lonely she was, with no one but her loving canine at her side. Perhaps she should attempt to make friends sometime. Still, she knew she could never attempt to speak to them. She was the odd one out, and felt as though the only thing at her side was Asclepius.

_It can’t stay that way, though… Can it…?_

**_*but no one came…_ **

* * *

_**[1]** _ _Asclepius – The Greek god of medicine, health, healing, rejuvenation, and physicians._


	2. In Which She is Late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I mean, of course I’d seen monsters. They weren’t exactly a rarity, especially where I lived. The main monster district was located here, which was no surprise considering that my city was the closest to Mount Ebbot, the mountain where monsters had come from in the first place. I’d seen plenty of monsters, though I’d never actually spoken one-on-one with one, nor had I ever had the pleasure of seeing a live skeleton, let alone two.

            I frantically scrambled to my class, feet pounding on the tile beneath my feet. My eyes must’ve been as wide as serving platters as the school came into view. I clutched my laptop to my chest, running as fast as I could and mentally begging that my feet wouldn’t slip on the snowy ground beneath me.

            _Ten minutes late! I’m such an idiot!_

I ran into the building, sneakers sliding on the tile flooring, but I somehow managed to catch myself before I went crashing to the ground. Thank God… I scrambled to my class, somehow making it in without a single mishap. Well, that is, if you don’t include the sad mishap that seems to be my entire morning.

            “Miss Adrian Wolff!” My professor shouted to the class as I attempted to silently enter, hoping to God that he wouldn’t notice.

            Of course, I had no such luck.

            “Y-Yes, sir?” I gulped.

            “You are almost fifteen minutes late! What is your excuse?”

            The man crossed his arms, raising a brow in my direction. _Literally_ all eyes were on me at this point as the professor made a complete fool out of me. I choked down a shaky breath, managing to keep my cool.

            This man was a complete freak. He was the creepiest man I had ever encountered, and at times I wasn’t sure whether he hated me or liked me a little _too_ much, if you get my drift. This, on the other hand, was one of the moments I was without a doubt certain that he _detested_ me.

            “I woke up late, sir,” I answered.

            “Don’t let it happen again…” He snapped.

            I was thankful he hadn’t taken it upon himself to humiliate me further, and went to my seat. The other students around me snickered and whispered amongst themselves, occasionally glancing back at me. I clenched my pencil, silently seething in my seat.

            _Bastard… As if I wasn’t already the humiliation of my class already…_

“Hey, Cross-Eyes, what had you up so late? Trying to fix all your mistakes?” The man in front of me snickered.

            I frowned, looking at him.

            “At least mine are fixable, unlike that ugly mug of yours,” I spat back.

            He clenched his fists, eyes narrowing instantly. I could tell he wanted to punch me, and for a moment, I almost wanted him to, just to give him a hell of a ride when I fought back.

            “You bitch, I outta-”

            “Quiet, Mr. Andrews!” The professor snapped.

            I shot “Mr. Andrews” a smug look. He scowled, before turning back around in his seat and facing the front of the room. I leaned back in my own seat, crossing my arms and letting out a sigh, thinking about the nickname.

            _That’s a new one. Normally it’s some other smug play on my mismatched eyes._

It felt like the class lasted forever, before the bell finally rang. I gathered my things while the other students frantically scrambled off, probably to get drunk or party. Isn’t that what most college students did? Pfft… Not like I would know. I was the odd one out, I guess.

            “Miss Wolff, may I speak with you?” Professor Weston spoke after most of the students had left.

            I wanted to cringe at the creepiness of it. Of course he wanted to speak _after_ everyone else had left. Still, I suppose I couldn’t argue. This man was sort of in charge of how my future went, depending on the grades I received. With a sigh, I walked to his desk, hugging my laptop to my chest.

            “Yes, sir?”

            Dr. Weston looked down at my rather short form, and I suddenly wished I was taller. And stronger. A _lot_ stronger. He leaned over me slightly, giving me a creepily horrifying smile. I wasn’t sure if it was intentional, or just his natural smile. I wasn’t sure which one I preferred.

            “You seem very tired lately. Is everything alright?”

            “U-Um, yes, Dr. Weston, everything is fine…”

            I mentally cursed the stutter in my voice. How could I help it? This guy was totally freaking me out. There was no way I was going to tell him squat about my problems.

            “Are you sure? You can speak with me about _anything_ , you know.”

            The man placed an unbelievably awkward hand on my right shoulder. I held back a shiver, awkwardly shrugging off his hand and shambling toward the door.

            “Yep, everything’s fine! I’ll see you tomorrow!” I babbled out quickly, before scrambling out with a rather weak ‘goodbye’.

            I breathed out a sigh as I left the building, huddling into the large brown trench coat wrapped around me. My breaths came out in small clouds, and I wondered if I had time to stop at a café for coffee. Oddly enough, I didn’t work today, and I had no other plans other than going back home until my classes started.

            No, better yet, screw the café. I needed _food_ , and the best place to find that was Nancy’s Diner. So, of course, thanks to the fact that I was too lazy to go shopping for anything other than dog food; why not just stop and get something to eat? I grinned at my genius plan. No cooking, and no shopping. I’m killing two birds with one stone. Besides, Asclepius wouldn’t mind being alone for an extra hour or two.

            I began my journey toward Nancy’s, shambling through the snow like the idiot I was. I was the only idiot who’d be out in this weather. At least, the only idiot who’d be walking in this weather. It was crazy cold, and the snow was obviously proof of it.

            I was thankful when I entered the building, wiping some snow off my shoulder and making sure to stomp the snow from my sneakers on the rug before I trekked into the building and made a mess. The waitress passing me shot me a thankful look, before going to deliver an order to a nearby table.

            I walked to my own table, sitting in a not-so-secluded area since my usual corner table was taken by some couple. I sighed, setting my laptop in the empty booth space beside me, along with anything else I’d managed to carry along with me from school.

            “Hello, how may I help you?”

            I looked up. It was the waitress from before, giving me a kind smile and holding her notepad in her hand. I blinked twice, probably seeming like a complete idiot as a had a brain-fart moment. Things got awkward rather quickly.

            “Oh, right…” I frantically grabbed the menu, realizing I hadn’t looked it over once since I’d sat down.

            I scanned through it, the woman standing at my table, both of us awkwardly waiting until I ordered. I could feel my nervousness kicking in, and held back a shakiness in my hands. _Why am I so stupid, sometimes?_

“A-A hamburger… Yeah, a hamburger…” I finally spoke.

            The woman wrote it down in her notepad calmly. She looked at me once more.

            “What can I get you to drink?”

            _Right, of course, drinks always come first. Really smooth, Adrian…_

“Hot chocolate?”

            The woman smiled. She must’ve sensed my nervousness, because she very calmly sat down across from me for a moment. Her eyes were warm, and I instantly felt myself calm down. She wasn’t much older than me, if not the same age.

            “I’m Sarah… I hope that helps with your nervousness,” she said.

            I won’t lie, it most certainly did. It was odd of me to be so completely nervous in front of people. I mean, I’ve embarrassed myself enough during my life to know that it’s going to happen again, and there’s no reason for me to hold on to the embarrassment. I guess it was just due to my complete exhaustion, and the fact that I’d already been humiliated enough for the day.

            “Sorry. I’m not normally like this,” I sighed, “It’s been a long day.”

            Sarah laughed a bit, nodding. After a moment, she stood up, writing down my drink order. She looked at me, smiling.

            “I’ll be back with your orders soon...” She trailed off, not knowing my name.

            I hesitated, my mind debating on whether or not to give her my name. Finally, I came to the conclusion that I’d probably be back again soon, and I’d be seeing her again at some point.

            “Adrian.”

            The woman nodded, smiling once more, before wandering off most likely to give my order to whomever was the cook. I let my shoulders sag, and ran a hand over my face. Sometimes, life was just so exhausting. Today seemed to be one of those days, without a doubt. In fact, if this day could get any worse, I was certain it was going to happen.

            I laid my head on the table, thinking of all the things that could go wrong. I could spill my food on my coat. I could see a super-hot guy walk in and completely humiliate myself. I could break a tooth. I could have forgotten my wallet at home.

            _Wait-_

I quickly lifted my head, immediately beginning to dig through the pockets of my coat to make sure I hadn’t _actually_ forgotten my wallet. The moment I felt my fingers graze the smooth leather of my wallet I let out a sigh of relief. Thank god that wasn’t one of the things on my list of problems.

            “HUMAN!”

            I jumped and yelped at the sound of the very loud voice. My leg slammed into the table, and I immediately grabbed my knee, letting out a groan of pain. My eyes darted to the owner of the voice, and I immediately froze at the sight of what I certainly _hadn’t_ been expecting.

            Two skeletons stood at my table, both absolute giants. At least, they seemed that way due to me sitting and them standing. My eyes widened, and I choked on my breath, the pain in my knee being completely forgotten.

            I mean, of _course_ I’d seen monsters. They weren’t exactly a rarity, especially where I lived. The main monster district was located here, which was no surprise considering that my city was the closest to Mount Ebbot, the mountain where monsters had come from in the first place. I’d seen plenty of monsters, though I’d never actually spoken one-on-one with one, nor had I ever had the pleasure of seeing a live skeleton, let alone _two._

            “MIGHT I ASK WHY YOU ARE SITTING ALONE ON SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DAY, HUMAN?”

            It took me a moment to process the question, and when I finally had, I blinked in confusion. Definitely not the way I imagined my first conversation with a monster to start.

            “U-Um…” I sputtered out words.

            How the hell was I supposed to answer that question? I couldn’t just answer with, “oh because I have literally no friends other than my dog”. Though, that did seem to be the least unusual answer.

            “Well, I guess because I have no one to sit with…?” I answered, though it seemed more like a question.

            The tall skeleton looked down at the shorter one. I supposed I shouldn’t refer to him (or her. How could I know what a female skeleton looked like?) as short. Neither of them were short by any means, like most monsters I had seen. The tallest one stood at about 6’5”, and had a rather odd choice in clothing, if I do say so myself. The shorter one stood at about 6’2”, and had a much more laid back posture than their brother.

            “WELL, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE A PROPOSAL FOR YOU!”

            I blinked.

            “Huh?”

            “MY BROTHER AND I SHALL NOT LEAVE YOU SITTING ALONE ON SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DAY SUCH AS THIS!”

            I nearly choked on my breath. Definitely _not_ what I had been expecting.

            “bro, maybe she’d rather sit alone…”

            The shorter one finally spoke. I was stunned by his voice, which was much deeper than his brother’s. At least, that’s what the taller one had said earlier. It was a voice I could honestly appreciate. It wasn’t awkwardly deep, and he had a very laid-back tone.

            “NONSENSE! NO ONE WANTS TO SIT ALONE!”

            “papyrus-”

            “ALRIGHT, HUMAN, WHAT WILL IT BE? WOULD YOU LIKE TO REMAIN ALONE OR SIT WITH THE GREAT PAPYRUS AND SANS?”

            Papyrus and Sans… Hey, weren’t those the names of fonts…? I mentally shook off the thought, and fidgeted with one of the buttons on my trench coat. With that…oddly emotional skeletal look on his face, how could I say no to him? He had this begging look in his eyes (which was odd for someone who didn’t even have eyes).

            “I-I guess I wouldn’t mind having some company…”

            The skeleton grinned widely, his posture straightening slightly. He seemed almost proud of himself. Allowing them to sit with me suddenly seemed much better than the alternative of sitting alone, and of not seeing the happiness he showed afterward.

            “THIS IS FANTASTIC! I TOLD YOU, BROTHER, NO ONE WANTS TO SIT ALONE!”

            The tall skeleton squeezed in beside me, while his brother sat across from us.

            “I AM PAPYRUS, HUMAN!” The skeleton finally gave a proper introduction, although the nickname “human” was new to me.

            “i’m sans. sans the skeleton,” his brother chuckled.

            He stretched out his hand to me, and I stared at it for just a moment. As expected, his hand was completely made of bone, though I had no idea how the two brothers stayed together so easily and didn’t go crumbling to the ground in a pile of bones. Magic, I supposed, which seemed to be the most logical thing involving most monsters. The term was still new to us humans, though, despite a year passing after the monsters had come to the surface.

            I broke from my thoughts, immediately shaking his hand. I let out a yelp as a shock jolted up my arm, and immediately pulled away, clutching my hand. The skeleton laughed, while Papyrus groaned.

            “SANS, YOU ARE SO RUDE!””

            “sorry, bro, but _tibia_ honest, i hadn’t meant anything mean by it.”

            “SANS, I SWEAR-”

            I hadn’t meant to cut him off, but I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up from my lips. I let out a snort, before covering my mouth to try to suppress my uncontrollable giggles. The skeletons both looked at me, ceasing their argument. My giggles turned into laughter, and it wasn’t long before the skeleton across from me was laughing too. Papyrus groaned loudly, smacking his face with a gloved hand.

            I finally calmed down, my laughter turning into occasional giggles.

            “What a turn in events, that’s a real _rib-tickler_ …” I smirked.

            Papyrus slammed his fists on the table, while Sans erupted into more uncontrollable laughter.

            “NO, NOT TWO OF YOU!”

            “oh, calm down, paps, we’re just trying to _ketchup_ on some good puns,” Sans snickered, grabbing the bottle of ketchup on our table.

            “SANS, DON’T YOU DO IT…”

            We both watched the skeleton bring the bottle to his mouth. His jaw opened and he squirted the ketchup right into his mouth. My snickering ceased and my eyes widened, jaw dropping in shock. Sans lowered the bottle, looking at us, smirking.

            “SANS…” Papyrus groaned, covering his face, “HOW EMBARRASSING…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sorry if I'm not the greatest at punning. Still working on forming the talent and adapting it into the story XDD  
> *Also, in case anyone was wondering, this story will hopefully be updated weekly. For now, I've just started with publishing the first two chapters to get this thing started ;)


	3. In Which Laundry Must Be Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I listened to Asclepius eat, savoring the very innocent sound and trying to block out the yelling from my neighbors next door. I turned on my side, hugging my pillow, before shutting my eyes. I slowly drifted to sleep, arms wrapped around my pillow as if that could cure my loneliness.

            Here I sat, at a table with two monsters, eating lunch with them. Sarah had returned with my food, and was stunned to see I’d been joined by two others. Most likely she was more surprised by the fact that I was now being accompanied by two skeleton monsters, but she didn’t say anything. She’d taken their orders, and returned not long later with what they’d ordered.

Now, the three of us sat together in a rather comfortable silence, eating our food. Though, occasionally, Sans would say some stupid pun about his sandwich, or Papyrus would blurt out some random memory from their time in the Underground. I didn’t speak much, not nearly having as interesting as a life as these two.

Just the fact that they were monsters made their lives much more extravagant than mine. The Underground seemed like it’d been a very hectic place, but not in a bad way. Just from the way Papyrus spoke of it, it seemed like he almost missed it.

I couldn’t blame him. Monsters, at first, had been treated so unfairly. There had been so many protests and attempts to drive them back under Mount Ebbot, but they obviously remained here despite the cruelty they faced. Over the last year, though, people had grown accustomed to the monsters being here. Racism had dropped significantly, and more people were beginning to simply see the monsters as your everyday Joe.

It wasn’t long before we’d all finished eating. Things got a bit awkward after that. I guess it hadn’t occurred to us that we’d have to part ways eventually. Though, I was unbelievably thankful for the company, even just for a short period of time.

“I’d better get home,” I started, “it’ll be getting late, and I have a class early tomorrow morning.”

It was obvious that Papyrus wanted to question what classes I had, and almost had, until his brother spoke up first.

“yeah, pap and i have to get home, too,” Sans said.

Our goodbyes were awkward as we paid, then separated paths. They’d been the first to leave, since I still had to gather my things. I sighed, watching them go, before doing just that. I got my laptop and other things from school, before waving goodbye to Sarah and heading out the door.

And, off I went to begin my trek back home. I’d pulled up my hood, since it had begun snowing all over again. Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to care. My bad day had taken a pretty quick turn after my interesting encounter at the diner. Despite my dreadful bad luck earlier, I was thankful for even such a short meeting with two of the nicest people I’d ever met. Well… Perhaps three. The waitress, Sarah, was someone who I was grateful for as well.

I shook my head at my own thoughts, entering my apartment building. I shook off the snow, walking to the elevator. This damn thing was going to break down on me at some point, I was certain. This building felt like it was a million years old, and that included the smelly elevator. Thankfully, I made it safely to my floor and walked to my apartment which was just down the hall from the elevator.

As I entered, Asclepius came running to me, his tail wagging frantically. He jumped up onto me, and I laughed, holding his paws and holding him up. _Barely_. He was a big dog, and I was a pretty small human. Asclepius attempted to lick my face, and I shooed him off, laughing.

“No licking…” I giggled.

            Asclepius jumped down, his nails clicking on the wood floor below. His tail continued wagging, even after he’d sat down. He stared up at me, his mismatched eyes still bringing a smile to my face. I patted his head, walking past him and to what could be considered my “backyard”. In reality, it was just a patch of fake grass on a balcony where my dog could do his business, so I could immediately clean it up afterward.

            Now, I wasn’t exactly a messy person. In fact, despite my laziness, I was quite a clean person. I showered every morning (even mornings such as today when I was running unbelievably late), and I made sure the apartment was kept decently clean, especially with Asclepius around. Sure, I occasionally had some trash lying around, or something was misplaced, but for the most part it was very nicely cleaned.

            Well, everything but my bedroom.

            Speaking of, I entered the small room. I kicked aside some clothes on my floor, walking to my closet and getting my largest t-shirt, before looking for a pair of clean sweatpants. Of course, I had no such luck, and had to put on the large pair from the night before.

            _I need to do laundry…_

I groaned at the thought, changing into the clothes, before beginning to gather all the clothes on my floor and throw them into my laundry basket. I hated the days when I had to do laundry. The laundry room was all the way on the bottom floor, and usually my basket was completely full on the days I chose to do laundry, which also meant it was very heavy. With a huff, I lifted the basket and shambled out of my apartment once more. Asclepius watched me struggle with the basket, just before I’d shut the door.

            My bare feet padded on the floor as I returned to the disgusting elevator once more. I huffed as it began moving, thankful that no one else was in here to watch me embarrass myself as I attempted (and failed) to carry my own laundry basket. I really should do this more, instead of waiting for the basket to get so full.

            Then again, there’s a lot of things I _should_ do.

            Laundry always seemed to drag on, and I was thankful when I’d finally managed to get my clothes all completely washed and dried. It took even longer than it would for most people, considering I had multiple loads to do. Yep, I definitely needed to do this more often.

            I’d managed to shamble all the way back to my apartment with the now clean clothes. Too lazy to fold or put them away, I left them in the basket and collapsed on my bed, huffing. From the other room, I could hear Asclepius chowing down on his food. It was the one most comforting sound in this place. I knew my apartment complex wasn’t the safest, and certainly not the cleanest.

            Sadly, it was the only thing I could afford right now. I can’t even afford a decent car, let alone a nicer apartment. This piece of shit was all I had for now. So, I had to stick with the sounds of yelling, sex, and other unsettling noises from my neighbors until I could afford something nicer.

            Wretchedly, it was beginning to feel like that might never happen.

            _What the hell? You’re nineteen and you still haven’t managed to find a decent enough job to be able to pay for an actually safe apartment, or even a car._

I dragged a hand over my face, groaning. My parents were no help. I’d grown up as a spoiled, rich little girl. I hated it, truthfully, and was always treated differently thanks to it. Yet, my parents refused to help me pay for my apartment, a car, or even for my college tuition. They hated that I’d left California in the first place, especially to come to a place “riddled with monsters”, as they’d claimed so distastefully.

            I didn’t care, of course. I was…happy enough, here. At least I wasn’t wearing fake contacts to hide my mismatched eyes, even though there were moments I wished I could.

            I listened to Asclepius eat, savoring the very innocent sound and trying to block out the yelling from my neighbors next door. I turned on my side, hugging my pillow, before shutting my eyes. I slowly drifted to sleep, arms wrapped around my pillow as if that could cure my loneliness.

 

            I woke up to my alarm blaring, and jolted awake from bed. I rubbed my eyes, checking the time.

            _6:00 a.m._

_What the hell? Had I seriously slept through the other half of the day yesterday? Shit… I guess I really was tired yesterday._

I slapped my hand on the “dismiss” button, and dragged myself out of bed. Asclepius watched me from his sleeping position on the end of my bed, but didn’t bother to get up. I couldn’t blame him. It was too early to be awake. Sadly, I had another uncomfortable class to get to. In fact, I had three, and work was immediately after. _Yay._

I showered, then got dressed in my warmest clothes (which were sadly just skinny jeans, a t-shirt, my sneakers, and the only nice thing I owned which was my trench coat). Oh, let’s not forget my scarf, a beanie, and a pair of cheap white gloves with a hole at the tip of the pinkie finger on the left glove.

            I let Asclepius out before I left, along with making sure he was well-fed and had water. I kissed the top of my mutt’s head, before leaving the safety of my apartment. It wasn’t even light out yet. It usually wasn’t when I began walking to the college campus. I stuffed my gloved hands in my pockets, beginning my very cold adventure.

            I always took the safest route to the campus, which was also much longer than the normal. It involved walking through an entire neighborhood. After all, if something happened while I walked through here, I could scream and without a doubt receive help from the residents here. Anywhere else, though, I’d be completely screwed.

            I wasn’t an idiot, that was for sure. I knew I was short for my age, standing at a very proud 5’3”, and I knew that if I was attacked I would be unable to fight off my attackers. Because of this, I chose the safer route, even if it did result in me being in the cold for a longer period of time.

            My body had begun trembling halfway through the neighborhood. I shakily pulled out my phone, checking the temperature. _Twenty-seven degrees Fahrenheit._ I stuffed my phone back in my pocket, scowling at myself. I was going to get frostbite thanks to my own stupidity.

            “hey, what are you doing?”

            I jumped, letting out a loud yelp at the voice that came from the house I was walking past. I felt my footing give out, and fell onto my ass right in the snow. My eyes darted toward the house, where a very familiar skeleton was leaning against the wall, eyes staring at me questioningly.

            I wasn’t sure what to focus on, the cigarette in his right hand, the way his left eye glowed a cyan blue, or the fact that I was now sitting on my ass in the freezing cold snow.

            “S-Sans?!”

            The skeleton snorted, straightening. He put out the cigarette, flicking it away, and walked to me. He held out a hand for me, pupils staring down at me. I hesitated, remembering what happened last time. He chuckled.

            “don’t worry, i won’t shock ya this time.”

            I put my hand in his, and true to his word, he helped me to my feet. I wiped off the snow from my ass, embarrassed. Sans stuffed his hands in his pockets, staring down at me, a brow bone raised. For a moment, I mentally questioned the logic of that, but shook it off soon after. There wasn’t really _any_ logic involving these guys.

            “what are you doing out here? it’s freezing,” the skeleton questioned.

            “I could ask you the same thing,” I sighed.

            “touché,” he smirked.

            I patted the snow off my gloves, smiling a bit. I fidgeted awkwardly.

            “I’m walking to my class,” I finally answered the question.

            “through a neighborhood in freezing cold weather by yourself?”

            _Well, when you put it like that it makes me sound like a complete idiot._ I thought, frowning at the lack of logic at my actions. I probably looked like the biggest idiot in the entire world right now. Nope. There was no _probably_ about it. I _was_ the biggest idiot in the entire world.

            “Yeah, I guess…”

            Sans snorted, running a boney hand over his face. He snickered a bit. I watched his finger accidentally brush the small crack beneath his right eye, and his hand quickly jolted away from it, returning to his pocket.

            “it’s dangerous out here, kid. you know that, right?”

            “Well, yeah, but I have no one to walk with and no car.”

            Sans sighed, glancing back at what I assumed was his house. I checked the time to see how much time I’d probably already wasted, and was thankful that I still had plenty of time to make it. About thirty minutes, and it was just a fifteen-minute walk from here.

            “how about this, kid? i’ll walk you to your campus. it ain’t that far, right? i can’t take papyrus’ car since he’s still asleep, but i’ll walk ya there.”

            My eyes widened. I instantly began waving my hands and shaking my head frantically.

            “N-No! No, I couldn’t ask you to do that! I’ve made it there every other morning, and it’s so cold out here I couldn’t ask you to stay out here just to walk me to my campus!”

            I was babbling, and it was obvious. Sans rolled his eyes, grabbing my shoulders and turning me in the direction I was originally walking. He pushed me forward lightly, walking behind me.

            “don’t worry ‘bout it, kid. one day ain’t gonna hurt no one. i couldn’t just leave you to walk there alone at this point,” he chuckled.

            I looked back at him, beginning to walk on my own accord.

            “Are you sure?” I mumbled, feeling my face heat up with complete embarrassment.

            Sans looked down at me. It occurred to me that the pupil in his right eye was much dimmer than the one in his left. Not only that, but when I’d seen him earlier, his right eye wasn’t glowing like his left had been. I glanced at the crack beneath the eye, and silently wondered if something was wrong with that eye.

            “yeah, don’t worry about it.”

            The skeleton’s deep voice broke me from my thoughts. He must’ve sensed me staring, because he’d quickly looked away. I looked ahead, subconsciously biting my lip.

            The silence was more awkward than I’d ever thought it could be. I had no idea what to say to start a conversation, which would have probably been better than this awkward silence. The tension in the air could have literally been cut with a knife.

            Sans had moved his hands off my shoulders, and was now walking silently beside me. I glanced at him from the side. _Why was he awake so early anyway? Wouldn’t he rather be sleeping?_ I looked away before he could catch me, not wanting to make him anymore uncomfortable than he probably already was.

            “papyrus really liked you, ya know,” Sans finally spoke up.

            I let out a sigh of relief as the silence was broken, before his words processed through my head.

            “He liked me? All I did was let you guys sit at my table,” I answered.

            Sans snorted, looking at me once more.

            “kid, that meant more to him than you realize.”

            I paused, looking up at him. Sans continued walking, despite him probably having absolutely no idea where he was going. I continued, returning to his side. I looked down at the snow covered ground.

            “Well, to be honest, it meant a lot to me, too,” I admitted.

            The rest of the walk continued in silence, slightly less awkward than it had been before. I was grateful that Sans had walked me. I felt much safer than I would’ve been if I was alone.

            “Well… This is it. Thanks for walking me, Sans.”

            I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly, smiling a bit. Sans blinked twice, before smiling and chuckling a bit.

            “anytime, kid.”

            We stood there a moment in silence, both of us unsure how to go about parting ways.

            “hey, be more careful out there, okay, mismatch?”

            Sans shot me a grin, before turning away and beginning to walk back to his house. I watched him go, replaying the nickname in my head. Sure, I’d gotten used to being made fun of for my eyes. Yet, the way he said it that time wasn’t unkind or callous in any way. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

            A smile formed on my face once more, and I entered the building with a much giddier attitude than I’d started with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *For starters, yeah, this is supposed to be a slow burn. I really want to build up the romance before they get together.  
> *But, I'll be completely honest with you guys, I SUCK at taking things slow. Still, there is a purpose for some of the things I do.  
> *And for anyone who's curious as to what Sans' voice sounds like, listen to the To the Bone song by JT Machinima. (Yes, I am a literal piece of trash for this damn fandom). I sort of wanted to give Sans this attractive voice, not the awkward one that most people associate him with. (No offense)


	4. In Which Life Goes Downhill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Immediately, I could taste and smell metal. I blinked twice, the pain not kicking in until two seconds later. My eyes snapped up toward Jason, who was about to land another punch before-

            I was thankful that my first two classes weren’t with Dr. Weston, my creepy-ass professor. Sadly, my last class was with him. The only bright side I could see to the situation was that I couldn’t stay afterward, because I had to walk to work immediately afterward. Not that I would plan to stay afterward, he just always seemed to want to _talk_ after class.

            _Ugh, so creepy._

I entered Dr. Weston’s class, finding myself to be there ten minutes early. There was a small number of other students there, and the professor was (thankfully) nowhere to be seen.

            As I walked to my seat, another student caught my attention. Well… multiple other students, that is. Andrews, or Jason Andrews, was picking on one of the monster students. I frowned, walking to them.

            “L-Listen, j-j-just give me the book b-back…” The student stuttered, reaching for the stolen book.

            Jason held it out of the short monster’s reach, laughing as she jumped to grab it from him. He smirked, leaning over her tauntingly. I snatched the book from his hand as he moved to hide it behind him, right to where I happened to be waiting. He whipped around, looking at me. I glared.

            “Hey, asshole, why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”

            Jason snorted, crossing his arms.

            “Oh great, it’s Cross-Eyes. Watcha’ gonna do about it, huh?”

            Jason flicked the monster woman in the nose, snickering. She let out a whimper.

            After the last encounter with monsters, I had no hesitation about defending the new monster student in my class. Yet, my cockiness was short-lived as I made a mistake I quickly regretted.

            I kicked him in the balls.

            _Yep, right where the sun don’t shine._

“YOU BITCH!” He howled in pain.

            My eyes widened at my own actions. I backed up, immediately knowing I was in some deep shit. Yet, despite that, I didn’t apologize or even try to convince the bastard not to hurt me. Jason’s eyes snapped toward me, and so did his fist. I tried to dodge it, but I was quick to discover that my reflexes were as quick as a snail’s. _Very fucking slow._ His fist landed right in my face, and I crashed into the desk behind me.

            Immediately, I could taste and smell metal. I blinked twice, the pain not kicking in until two seconds later. My eyes snapped up toward Jason, who was about to land another punch before-

            “JASON ANDREWS!”

            I had never been so happy for that damn professor to come in than I had in that moment. Both our eyes immediately darted toward Dr. Weston, who was fuming with anger. Not only had I been punched in the face, but part of the desk was broken, which was probably what he was angrier about.

            “Get out of my class immediately, Mr. Andrews,” the doctor snapped furiously.

            Jason shot me a glare, which I was half-certain would slice me right in half with simply the intensity of it. After a moment, he and his cult stormed out like a bunch of “grown-ass adults”. How mature of them. Dr. Weston walked to me, and the poor monster woman was scrambling to help me.

            “O-Oh, goodness! Y-Y-You’re bleeding! That’s a l-lot of blood!”

            I lifted my arm, attempting to wipe the blood, but instead only smearing it across my face and arm. It was quickly followed by a pang of pain, to which I whimpered in response. Fuck, he must’ve really hit me hard.

            Dr. Weston kneeled in front of me. He sighed.

            “You’re going to have to see the campus nurse… Dr. Alphys, would you mind taking her?”

            Wait.

            _What?_

 _Dr._ Alphys…? Was she not a student if she already had the title of _Doctor?_

            “O-Of course, s-sir!”

            The two helped me to my feet, and I found that the woman was the same height as me (which was completely beside the point). The woman guided me out of the room, her arm wrapped around me as if she expected me to collapse right then and there. Oddly enough, I wasn’t as fazed as I probably should have been. I mean, I _literally_ got my ass kicked in front of everyone in the classroom.

            “Oh, wait.”

            I held out the book to the woman, realizing I was still somehow holding it in my hand. Her eyes widened.

            “Y-You still h-have that?!”

            “I guess.”

            “W-Wow. T-Thank you! B-But I don’t need that right n-now. Y-You really just n-need a nurse…”

            We continued walking in an awkward silence.

            “So, you’re not a student, huh?”

            The woman, Alphys as Dr. Weston had called her, let out a sigh. She stared ahead, not answering for a few moments.

            “Well, I-I technically a-am. I-It’s just that t-to get a j-job up here I need to have c-college credit, o-of some s-sort… I-I suppose I already h-have a job, b-but that’s besides the p-point. I-I’ve just d-d-decided I wanted to g-go to school t-to see what y-you humans t-teach,” she answered.

            I took note of the permanent stutter in her voice. She seemed to have calmed down quite a bit since fight itself.

            “I see. What’s your job?”

            “I-I’m the K-King and Queen’s R-Royal Scientist…”

            I choked on my breath, resulting in a startled look from poor Alphys. She looked at me, worried. I gave her my own look of surprise.

            “R-Royal Scientist!?”

            “U-U-Umm… Yes…?”

            “You mean, you work directly for the _King_ and _Queen_ of _monsters_?!”

            I might be human, but I knew exactly how important King and Queen Dreemurr were. Even in politics, the King and Queen had a say as to what happened. I occasionally saw them on the news, which was rare because I never watched the news.

            “Y-Yes, I suppose I do...”

            We made it to the nurse, and our conversation quickly ended. The nurse, whose nametag read Mrs. Henry, was quickly scrambling to get things to clean up the bloody mess that was most likely smeared across my face thanks to the one and only me. Alphys released me as the nurse pushed me toward the bed and had me sit down.

            She first cleaned the blood off my face, and I saw Alphys and the nurse visibly cringe. I wondered what could possibly be so bad that it’d make them both cringe. The nurse seemed to sense my confusion, and helped me up, guiding me to a mirror. There was a huge bruise on the bridge of my nose, and my bottom lip had a large gash on the left side that had previously been hidden beneath the blood.

            _Oh. That._

The nurse sighed, lowering her hands from where they’d previously been placed on my lower back.

            “Perhaps you should go home, Miss Wolff. I will inform your professor that I sent you home,” she sighed.

            I ran a hand through my hair, the possibility certainly worth taking. I could just go straight to work, maybe make some extra money. Then again, I doubted my boss would let me work with my face looking the way it did. Guess I wouldn’t know if I didn’t try.

            “Yeah, okay, thank you…” I sighed.

            Alphys and I left the office. Alphys nervously fidgeted as I handed her the book. She seemed to feel guilty, I could practically see the guilt dripping off her. Yet, I would do it again in a heartbeat, especially now that I knew the kind of people she was involved with.

            “Hey, it’s okay. I’m fine. A few bruises aren’t going to ruin my life.” I laughed bit.

            Alphys smiled slightly.

            “I-I think my g-girlfriend would like y-you…” She said, laughing a bit, before continuing, “t-thank you so m-much for saving m-me back there…” She trailed off, looking up at me for my name.

            “Adrian,” I smiled.

            Alphys gladly returned the smile.

            “T-Thank you, A-Adrian. I’m A-Alphys, but I f-figure you already gathered t-that. A-Anyway, I-I can give you my n-number, and if you e-ever want to talk I-I’ll definitely be t-there!”

            It took me a moment before I understood what she was trying to do. She was trying to ask me to be her _friend._ I blinked twice, a bit shocked at the offer. A friend? That was… an odd thought. Truthfully, it felt like a long time since I could actually claim someone was my _friend._ So, of course, how could I turn the offer down?

            I grinned, handing her my phone after opening up my contacts so she could put herself in. Alphys returned the grin, quickly entering her number in my phone and putting herself as a contact. Before we parted ways, I texted her so she had my number, and we gave each other a quick hug, before I left.

            I smiled as I walked in the direction of my job, where I worked as a sadly poor waitress in a fancy restaurant. Because of the _exquisiteness_ of this place, I expected my boss to send me straight home, thanks to all the bruises. Part of me hoped that happened, but the other part of me knew how much I needed the money, and working was the only way to achieve that.

 

            What I had _not_ been expecting was the way my day took a complete 360 as life hit me in the face with a literal spiked brick.

            “ _Fired?!_ ”

            My eyes were wide as I stared at my boss, heart completely dropping.

            “N-No, I need this job! Sir, please, I-I’ll fix whatever I did wrong! I have nothing else to fall back on!”

            My boss sighed, fixing his tie, his next words completely unforgiving.

            “I’m sorry, Adrian, but you just don’t fit the qualifications of our employees anymore. We’re going to let you go. I’m sorry, but please do not come into work tomorrow.”

            With that, he stretched out his hand to gesture toward the exit. Tears burned my eyes, and I threw my uniform on his desk, before storming out. This was _all_ I had. I had _nothing._ Now, I was almost certain that life had handpicked me to be the joke of humanity. There was no way I could afford my apartment now, or even buy my dog or myself any food.

            I walked down the sidewalk, frantically trying to wipe the cold tears from my cheeks. Yet, they wouldn’t stop.

            _Fuck._

It was already hard enough for me to find a job, but now I had that I was previously fired to add onto any new work applications. There was _no way_ I would be able to find a job now.

            Of course, my first instinct was to go blow just a bit of money on something to help drown out my sadness. Not alcohol. Though, the thought had crossed my mind. Instead, I chose something much more innocent and decided to simply go to the nearest café and drown myself in coffee and maybe a pastry or two.

            Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I walked with my head down to the nearest café. Luckily, it wasn’t too expensive. I even managed to buy a fancy dog treat for Asclepius, which I knew he’d enjoy. With a sigh, I sat at one of the small, rounded tables near the window.

            Ironically, I had no interest to drink the coffee after I’d bought it, simply staring at it with what probably looked like complete defeat to anyone else. How could it not? I’d literally just lost the only thing that made my life worth living.

            Without a job, I couldn’t even afford college. Without college, I obviously couldn’t find an actually decent job, or ever have a life of any sort.

            With those thoughts, I buried my face into my hands, letting out a groan. After a moment, I wiped any tears that had formed, looking out the window. It had started snowing again. It always seemed to be snowing, though never enough to halt normal life for anyone. Only ever just enough to be annoying.

            ‘Buzz’

            I blinked, confused as to what the hell that could have been. After a moment, I realized I’d received a text. _The hell_? I never get texts. Who the hell could have texted me? I scrambled to pull the phone from my coat pocket, before finally managing to pull it out and open the text.

            **Alphys ;3 | 4:09 p.m. – heya! i just remembered something!! my friends and i r doing a movie 2night and your totally welcome 2 join! :D**

I reread the text, eye twitching at the poor grammar and spelling. After rereading the text, it finally dawned on me what she was actually saying. She was actually _inviting_ me to hang out with her and her friends. I read it again multiple times, almost not believing it. I waited a few extra moments, expecting her to add a “just kidding” quickly after sending it.

            Yet, after two minutes of waiting, processing, and being completely dazed with shock, I finally managed to respond to the poor woman who was probably penetratingly staring at her phone with the expectation of being turned down. I hadn’t _quite_ responded with something that could be considered a _turn down_ , yet, it was pretty damn close.

            **Me | 4:11 p.m. – um, are u sure u want me there? aren’t those types of things for close friends only???**

Almost an immediate response.

            **Alphys ;3 | 4:12 p.m. – pfft no way!!! i’ve already told them all about u anyway!! i told them what u did & they’re so excited to meet u!! especially my girlfriend!!**

I was almost impressed at how confident she was through texting. She’d taken a complete 360 from the anxious, shy woman I’d met before to being this completely confident woman behind the screen.

            **Me | 4:13 p.m. – well………how could i turn down such kind offer? ;3 yeah, i’ll be there. where is it and what time?**

Nope, I certainly hadn’t expected what came next. From the location, to the time, and to the people who were obviously going to be there due to the location. And, frankly, I was terrified.

            **Alphys ;3 | 4:15 p.m. – ahhhhhh!!!! sweet!!! it’s at the king and queens place in the monster district!! i can meet you outside of the gates at 6:30 tonight so the other monsters don’t think you’re some random human haha!**

My heart completely dropped. No, no, not in a bad way. Well… not exactly. The moment she’d mentioned King and Queen Dreemurr, literally two of the most powerful people in the country, I was terrified. For starters, I did _not_ want to seem like a complete foolish wreck to the literal _king and queen of monsters_. And, right now, that’s literally _all_ that I was.

            Second, if the king and queen were going to be there, who the hell else was going to be there? I was certain it was more very important people who I really shouldn’t be involved with. Frankly, I was the _least_ important person in the world. To these guys, I was just another everyday Joe. Not only was I your average Joe, I was also the _human_ average Joe. I would probably be the only human there.

            Besides, I’d never been to the Monster District. I’d passed by it, and I’d heard a lot about it. Just from the looks of it, it was very well taken care of, and it seemed a much nicer place than anywhere outside the district.

            So, frankly, it seemed that I had multiple reasons for being completely terrified of this “movie night”. Yet, Alphys was my only friend, and I certainly wouldn’t turn down such a kind offer of hers. She was important, too, and I supposed I should be grateful someone like her had even noticed someone like me.

            So, I left the café with a coffee in my hands, a wrapped up dog-treat and donut in my pocket, and a wallet that wouldn’t be filled with money anytime soon, and walked home. I was never the type of person to sulk for long periods of time. I wasn’t planning on starting that now, no matter how much I wished I could.

            I entered the apartment, and was happily greeted by Asclepius. I grinned, digging into my pocket for the dog treat. I unwrapped it, and held it over his head. He quickly sat down, staring at the treat very intently. I set it on his nose carefully. With a snap of my fingers, the treat disappeared into the void that was my dog’s mouth.

            With a grin, I patted his head, before walking to get ready for tonight. Asclepius followed me curiously, tilting his head. I could understand why he was confused. I never went out after I’d gotten home from work or school, so the poor animal was probably surprised that I’d be going out now.

            “Sorry, buddy, but I’m going out tonight. Shocker, right? I actually made a friend,” I laughed a bit at the sad but true joke.

            Asclepius jumped on my bed, laying at the end of it. He watched as I dug through my clothes, trying to find something that was more decent looking. I couldn’t go to this thing wearing sweats and a t-shirt. I was meeting the king and queen of monsters, there was no way in _hell_ I would show up with my crappiest clothes.

            Sadly, I didn’t own too many nice clothes anyway. But, I figured that a pair of grey leggings with a black and grey sweater was decent enough. I threw on some comfy boots, my cheap gloves and beanie, with my trench coat on top. I decided to fix my makeup (not that I wore anything more than mascara and eyeliner anyway).

            Asclepius let out a bark, staring at me. I looked at him, shooting him a pout.

            “I know I look like shit. I always look like shit. But this is the best I’ve got,” I stated.

            Asclepius jumped off my bed, wandering off. I groaned.

            “Yeah, he has no idea what I’m talking about…”

            I left my bedroom, checking the time. _5:15 p.m._ I still had another thirty minutes to burn before I’d have to leave. I figured I could clean the place up a bit while I waited. I picked up any trash laying around, swept, mopped, and dusted, before the clock hit precisely 5:45 p.m., and I headed out in the direction of the Monster District.

            It was freezing cold, more so than it was this morning. The only bright side was that it wasn’t snowing, and there was hardly anyone out. I couldn’t blame them. I was probably the only idiot walking around in this freezing weather. Shaking, I burrowed myself beneath the hood of my coat, and sped up my walking pace. I glanced behind me to make sure I wasn’t being followed (thanks paranoia), before continuing onward and to my destination.

            The only positive thing I could possibly make out of the situation was that at least I had forgotten all about my fear thanks to the freezing temperatures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Two chapters in one day, and there are no skeletons in this chapter, but a wild Alphys did appear. Huh...odd...  
> *Anyway, I'm a total shipper of Alphyne, so of course I have to bring the two characters in with an established relationship.  
> *That, and I also have plans for the storyline involving the two.  
> *Anyway, please enjoy this chapter. It might be a bit boring, and it was less on the comedy and pun side, but hey, can't be perfect at everything, am-I-right?


	5. In Which She Meets the King and Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was yanked into a bone-crushing hug. My eyes practically popped out of my head at the tightness of it. Not only that, but also from the shock. After a moment of pain, she released me. I coughed a bit, but tried to hide the fact that her embrace actually hurt like hell. The woman grinned at me, wrapping an arm around Alphys’ shoulders. The lizard woman’s face quickly lit up a brilliant red. Huh…

I let out a puff of breath as the gates of the Monster District came into sight. I sped up my pace, just wanting to get to somewhere warm before I literally froze to death out here. Okay… Maybe it wasn’t quite _that_ cold, but it felt like it.

Alphys and another woman waited outside the gate, gossiping amongst each other. They were bundled up in their own coats, seeming to be much warmer than me. What the hell? Maybe I was just a wimp to the cold. Oh wait… The closer I got, the more I could see that they were both shaking slightly. I felt guilty, keeping them waiting out here.

“Oh, hey, Adrian!” Alphys noticed me, grinning.

Both women looked in my direction. The woman beside Alphys was _much_ taller than the two of us. She had dark red hair and blue…scales…? She was very fish-like. Her left eye was covered with an eyepatch, and she had a few other scars on her face. To say she was intimidating was a complete understatement.

“You must be the chick that saved my girlfriend!” The woman said loudly.

Ah, so this was the girlfriend.

“S-Saved? I wouldn’t say it like that-”

I was yanked into a bone-crushing hug. My eyes practically popped out of my head at the tightness of it. Not only that, but also from the shock. After a moment of pain, she released me. I coughed a bit, but tried to hide the fact that her embrace actually hurt like hell. The woman grinned at me, wrapping an arm around Alphys’ shoulders. The lizard woman’s face quickly lit up a brilliant red. Huh…

“You totally saved her! You were all like, ‘don’t mess with her or I’ll beat you up’ and they were like ‘okay go for it’, and then you were all ‘you’re gonna regret that’ and-”

Alphys cut her girlfriend off, laughing nervously.

“I-I didn’t say i-it like that…”

“Oh no, your version was _waaayyy_ better,” the woman laughed.

I shot a smirk toward Alphys, who began fidgeting. She laughed nervously, giving me a guilty look. I stayed quiet, deciding to let it slide. After all, she was totally making me sound like a badass.

“Woah, check out those battle wounds!”

The woman grinned, pointing at the bruise on my face. Or just my face in general. I couldn’t tell the difference either.

“Y-Yeah, that guy h-hit her pretty hard. A-Anyway, we should really get going. E-Everyone i-is waiting…”

We began walking, and Alphys’ girlfriend, Undyne, introduced herself. I looked around the town as we walked, seeing monsters of all sorts walking down the street. I found it odd that so many were out. Then again, they were probably much more trustworthy than the humans, and had no fear of wandering in the dark. I was envious, truthfully. It would make my life of walking to school every morning much easier if that was the case.

            I looked at the multiple stores and places as we walked. My eye caught a place called _Grillby’s_. It looked like a warm place, a bar of sorts, but not nearly as sketchy as most bars. I made a mental note that I’d have to check it out sometime. These places were all so… warm and inviting. How could I not stop by at some point in the future?

            It wasn’t long before we’d reached a large house. It was…beautiful, honestly. It was painted white, and many beautiful yellow flowers were planted outside. Even in the dark I could see how bright they were. There was a pathway leading to large wooden doors. Cars were parked outside, and I went into panicked mode, realizing there were quite a few people here.

            Alphys and Undyne didn’t hesitate to waltz right up to the door and walk right in. I choked, nearly tripping as I walked up the pathway.

            “Hey, everyone, check it out! This is that human who saved Alphys today!” Undyne announced, my heart dropping in complete fear.

            All eyes darted toward me, and there were quite a few. And, two sets of eyes that I recognized very quickly. Sans spit out the ketchup he’d been drinking, most likely from the shock of seeing me (trust me, I was shocked to see them too), and was immediately set into a fit of coughs. Papyrus grinned widely.

            “HUMAN! IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN!” He said loudly.

            I coughed, fidgeting.

            “P-Papyrus, you k-know her?” Alphys asked curiously.

            “OH YES! SHE WAS THE ONE I WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT THE OTHER DAY, THE ONE WHO WE HAD A VERY LOVELY LUNCH WITH!”

            I laughed awkwardly, rubbing my arm. Sans frantically wiped the ketchup from his face, having finally calmed down from his coughing fit. His eye lights darted toward me, which resulted in a very awkward stare down between the two of us. Thankfully, Papyrus interrupted the awkwardness.

            “SANS ALSO WALKED HER TO SCHOOL THIS MORNING! WE KNOW HER VERY WELL!”

            Of course Sans would tell his brother. Not that it mattered.

            “bro, we don’t know her _that_ well,” Sans finally spoke up.

            His voice was a bit raspy, due to his previous coughing fit. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t _slightly_ attractive.

            “HUSH, SANS! WE KNOW HER WELL-ENOUGH!”

            I laughed a bit, glancing at Alphys and Undyne, who seemed pleasantly surprised that I already knew Sans and Papyrus.

            “Children! I finished making the- Oh! You must be Alphys’ human friend!”

            My eyes widened at the appearance of none other than the queen herself. She wore a soft smile, standing in the doorway to what I assumed led to the kitchen. She was wearing an apron, which had a few puffs of what I assumed was flour (it better be flour).

            “U-Um, yes… I guess I am…” I laughed awkwardly.

            The woman walked to me, pulling me into the literally softest hug I’d ever felt in my entire life. My eyes widened, but I welcomed the embrace and returned it slowly. After a moment, she released me, smiling.

            “It is very nice to meet you, young one. I am Toriel.”

            “Adrian… I’m Adrian…” I returned the smile happily, my nervousness completely fading.

            Toriel grinned, before gasping and quickly helping me take off my coat. She hung it for me.

            “Oh, my apologies! Make yourself at home! We’ll be starting the movies very soon! I just have to finish making supper for everyone!” She grinned, before wandering back to the kitchen.

            “S-Still nervous?” Alphys asked quietly, nudging me.

            I didn’t even think about how she could have possibly known I was nervous. It might have been obvious; I wasn’t really sure. Yet, now that my nervousness had almost completely dissipated, I didn’t even bother to think too much about it.

            “No,” I laughed a bit.

            Introductions ensued with the other monsters here, and it turned out that there weren’t nearly as many as I’d thought. I met Mettaton, who Papyrus seemed to remain very close to. For a moment I wondered if the two were a couple, before realizing that this was not the case. Though, there did seem to be a mutual pining after one another that was very obvious.

            I also met a young, human girl named Frisk. She seemed to be about thirteen, and spoke in a fairly quiet voice. Undyne happily explained how she was the one who’d actually let them out of the Underground, and was now the Monster Ambassador.

            And, last but certainly not least, Asgore himself. He was the _king._ The actual _king of monsters_. And holy shit… he was a huge, fluffy teddy bear. Not literally, of course, but shit was he one of the kindest people I’d ever met. Also, one of the largest. He was even taller than Papyrus. No wonder their doorways were so ginormous.

            I ended up sitting beside Sans, who had gone back to lazily lounging on the couch, drinking his ketchup. I wondered how much ketchup he drank on a daily basis… and where it all went after he drank it. Wait, what the hell was the logic behind that anyway? I mentally shook off the thought, not sure if I actually wanted to know the answer.

            After a moment, something occurred to me.

            “Hey, Sans, how come you and Papyrus live outside the Monster District?” I questioned.

            Sans looked toward me lazily. He seemed to be in thought, bringing a hand to his chin and rubbing it thoughtfully.

            “guess cause papyrus and i wanna _ketchup_ on getting to know humans better,” he chuckled at his own joke.

            I let out a very unattractive snort, followed by a snicker. What can I say? I was a sucker for terrible jokes, and this skeleton was full of ‘em.

            “Fair enough. But you should learn _tibia_ honest with me,” I smirked.

            The skeleton shot me a look, clearly taking my statement as a challenge. His smirk widened. He outstretched his legs, putting his feet up on the wooden coffee table and crossing one leg over the other.

            “i suppose that _wood_ be wise. al _toe,_ i doubt it would make a difference,” he chuckled.

            I covered my mouth to contain my giggles, the other monsters around us watching the scene either in amusement, or they were like poor Papy who was sick of all the puns. Now, I didn’t know the skeleton brothers well, but dare I make the assumption that Sans must make these jokes _a lot._ Of course, that’s only an _assumption._

“So, darling, might I ask what your occupation is?” Mettaton spoke up, quickly ending our challenge.

            I looked at him, almost answering, before I quickly bit my lip and halted the words. These guys were the real deal, and I didn’t want to humiliate myself by saying I didn’t have a job anymore. Yet, I also couldn’t quite bring myself to lie to them. I thought for a moment, wondering which story I should tell them.

            I decided to simply just avoid the question. I nudged Sans’ shoulder, giving him a smirk.

            “Man, this guy really won’t _throw me a bone_ here.”

            Immediately, Papyrus and Mettaton were groaning and rolling their eyes at the pun. Sans snorted with laughter, snickering. He slapped his knee, shooting me a smug glance.

            “i think i’m gonna _kneed_ your number for that _humerus_ pun.”

            I immediately handed him my phone, and he did just that. He smirked, handing me my phone back. I looked at his contact name, and snorted. _a very bonely skeleton._ How original… I immediately put out my hand for me to give him my number. He chuckled, handing me the phone. I did just that, putting in a _punny_ contact name, followed by my number and a goofy selfie.

            Sans looked at his screen from over my shoulder, snickering as I typed a text to myself.

            **a very bonely skeleton | 7:45 p.m. – hey hot stuff**

I grinned as my phone buzzed, tossing the phone back to Sans. The skeleton laughed and caught it, rolling his eyes. I typed a text to Sans, smirking as I sent it. His phone buzzed, and he opened the text. I watched as a light blue tint spread across his cheekbones, and he snorted. The thought of how a skeleton could possibly blush had crossed my mind momentarily, but I’d learned to quickly push these thoughts away. They were completely unexplainable.

            **Mismatch** (me) **| 7:46 p.m. – Hey there, boner**

We both burst into a fit of laughter, grinning as we sent stupid jokes and puns to one another. The others gave us looks of confusion, while Undyne shook her head, snickering.

            “You two idiots are sitting right next to each other!”

            “and?” Sans shot her a smirk.

            I giggled when Undyne had no response, only rolling her eyes and smiling, before continuing whatever conversation she’d been having with her girlfriend and Asgore. Not long later, Toriel returned with Papyrus and Frisk, wearing a wide smile.

            “Dinner is ready, everyone! Go get your food, and this movie night will be starting!”

 

            _“Rich girls don’t do movie nights with those lower class than us!” The woman yelled to the young girl._

_The child stared up at her with two differently colored eyes. Tears made the green eye seem brighter, while the brown eye twinkled with sadness. Her brown hair was pulled into what was once a perfect bun, but had been changed into a messy bun due to the child’s destructive nature. Her freckled cheeks were tinted red from the efforts of trying not to cry._

_“B-But Mommy, they’re so nice… I-I thought-”_

_“You thought wrong, Adriaana!” Her mother hissed._

_The young girl hugged the teddy bear in her arms closer to her chest. She looked down, nodding once and only once._

_“Yes, Mama…” She said quietly._

_“Tomorrow you will be telling them that your plans for this foolish movie night have been canceled!” The woman calmed down just slightly after those words, fixing her dress with a huff. “We do these things because we love you, Adriaana. We do not want you to be influenced by those lower-class fools.”_

_The young girl’s mother grabbed her jaw lightly, squeezing her cheeks slightly so her lips puffed out. The woman stared at her, making sure her nails didn’t hurt her daughter._

_“You know that Mommy loves you, don’t you?”_

_Adriaana had no hesitation when she nodded. A wide smile spread across the young girl’s small lips, and she happily hugged her mother by her waist. The woman rolled her eyes, patting her daughter’s back once, before pushing her away lightly._

_“To your room, Adriaana,” she ordered._

_“Will you read me a bedtime story like you used to?” The little girl asked hopefully._

_“No, Adrian, I will not read you a bedtime story. You need to learn to grow up,” the woman sighed distastefully, before wandering off. One of the maids guided Adriaana to her bedroom, the young girl’s mismatched eyes watching her mother disappear._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *This chapter turned out to be pretty interesting, honestly. I'm hoping I can get the characters' personalities right instead of making them into my own thing. Eh. Let's do what I can.   
> *Anyway, I'm gonna do two chapters today, since I feel like this one is kinda short.  
> *Also, apologies for any mistakes. I haven't had time to edit this chapter yet, so just bear with me here. XD


	6. In Which She Cuddles a Skele

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I snickered slightly, using both hands to cover my mouth and conceal the sound as best I could. The skeleton’s eyes narrowed slightly, before he chuckled quietly and walked to us. He pulled out his phone, and held it up.

            I stared at the television screen tiredly, a skeleton asleep on one shoulder, and a young human asleep on the other. Across from me, on the opposite couch, the king and queen were crashed, and in the loveseat the love-fish and the love-lizard were cuddled up and asleep. I was the last one awake in the room.

            Mettaton had left earlier, but not before exchanging numbers with me and giving a sneaky kiss to the top of Papyrus’ sleeping skull. The memory brought a small smile to my tired lips. Sans had even left earlier, claiming he was going to feed his pet rock. A _pet rock._ I assumed it was most likely Papyrus’ doing, or it was an excuse Sans used if Papyrus had asked for a pet and Sans was too lazy to take care of a real pet.

            I could definitely see that being a possibility.

            _“SANS, CAN WE HAVE A PET?”_

_“yeah, bro, i totally know what to get.”_

_“WOWIE! AND WHAT WOULD THAT BE?”_

_“this pet rock.”_

_“A ROCK?”_

_“yeah, bro. check it out… it’s a real conversat- **stone** starter.” _

I snorted a bit as I imagined the scenario, accidentally causing Frisk to stir lightly. I fell back into silence, not wanting to wake anyone up and be faced with the guilt afterwards. I simply went back to watching the movie (which was really just some anime show that Alphys had picked).

            I heard the click of the front door, eyes snapping in the direction of it. Thankfully, it was only Sans. He must not have realized I was still awake, because he silently shut the door, mumbling a curse as his bones clacked together lightly with his movements. I almost laughed at the scene.

            When he turned back toward us, he jolted in surprise when he saw I was awake. He put a hand over his chest, left eye glowing just a cyan blue.

            “you scared the shit out of me!” He whisper-yelled.

            I snickered slightly, using both hands to cover my mouth and conceal the sound as best I could. The skeleton’s eyes narrowed slightly, before he chuckled quietly and walked to us. He pulled out his phone, and held it up.

            “S-Sans, don’t you dare!”

            I’d never seen anyone look so smug as he snapped an embarrassing picture of the three of us. Papyrus had his head on my shoulder, half of his body on the right side of my body, while Frisk’s head was resting on my lap.

            “memories, right?” He snickered jokingly.

            I rolled my eyes, and felt a small smile form on my lips. This damn skeleton was going to be the one guy I could never stay mad at; I just knew it.

            “anyway, mismatch, what’s up with all the sleepy-skulls?” He joked.

            I laughed quietly, smacking his ulna playfully, urging him to lower his voice as Papyrus stirred. He snickered, quieting down his voice, as not to wake his sleeping brother.

            “alright, alright…”

            We fell into a silence. Sans focused his eye lights on the anime show still playing on the TV. I did the same, but neither of us stayed focused on the TV for long.

            “how come you saved, alph?”

            The question caught me off guard. I looked back at the skeleton, who was already staring at me. If I wasn’t mistaken, there was almost a bit of… mistrust… Was he surprised by the fact that I’d defended Alphys against Jason? Was racism really bad enough to a point where it was shocking that I’d helped a monster?

            “Why wouldn’t I help her? She’s a person like everyone else,” I scoffed, offended that he’d even ask me such a question.

            Here I sat, in a house full of monsters, with one of them sleeping on my shoulder. Now, he suddenly thinks he needs to ask me why I’d helped her, as if I was some other racist human. Sans must have sensed my slight anger, and sighed.

            “i’m sorry, bruises, i just… it isn’t often that a human’ll stick up for us monsters, ya know?”

            Bruises… Huh, that’s a new one. And, sure as daylight, I didn’t stay mad at the skeleton, and smiled a bit.

            “I understand… I’m sorry. People are just so damn cruel.”

            Sans nodded in agreement. He glanced at his brother, before smiling a bit, his left eye light growing slightly in intensity, almost affectionately. He must have loved his brother more than anything else in this world, and I felt my chest tighten slightly in jealousy. Sans and Papyrus had each other. They could _always_ lean on each other. In fact, all of these guys could. They always had each other.

            And _me?_ Well, I didn’t really have anyone but Asclepius.

            I felt a pang of loneliness shoot through my chest. I quickly looked away from Sans, and at the TV, pretending to focus on the show. Sans rolled up the sleeves of his jacket, showing off the smooth ulna and radius that made up his lower arms. I stared at the bones, still not used to the fact that he was a skeleton.

            Though, I supposed that him being a skeleton was the least peculiar thing about monsters. In fact, I had most definitely seen my fair share of weird-ass monsters. Yeah…without a doubt… Even just in my school there were some real weird looking monsters. Not that I judged, of course. I was a weird looking human, so I figured the monsters simply thought the same thing about me.

            Although, speaking of school…

            _Shit._

“I-I should really get home. My dog is home alone and I really should get to sleep so I’m not exhausted tomorrow,” I explained.

            Sans glanced at Papyrus and Frisk, chuckling smugly. He waited just a moment so I could pout at him, before carefully helping me move Frisk and Papyrus into a comfortable position that wasn’t right on top of me. He helped me stand up, and I grinned, thanking him quietly.

            I went to put my coat and shoes on, dreading the fact that I’d have to walk home in the freezing cold and the dark.

            “you walking?” Sans questioned after a moment.

            “Yeah, but I’ll be fine,” I answered, tying the laces of my boots.

            Sans fell silent.

            “take papy’s car. he won’t mind to _throw ya a bone_ and lend you his car for tonight. then i’ll meet up with ya tomorrow outside your college to get the car back.”

            I stared at him. The only light in the room was the glow from the TV screen, and the small lights in his sockets, staring back at me.

            “I-I couldn’t do that. How will you two get home?”

            “don’t worry about it. i have some shortcuts,” he winked, “just take the car. paps won’t mind as long as you don’t wreck it.”

            Sans was insistent that I take the car, and I realized that there was no way I would be able to argue with him at this point. I realized that, even if the roles had been switch and Papyrus was instead in this situation, he too would make me take the car so I could get home safe and warm. So, with that thought, I quickly stopped my argument.

            “Thank you, Sans…”

            “anytime, mismatch.”

            The skeleton tossed me the keys after he’d grabbed them from wherever Papy had left them. I caught them, fumbling slightly. Sans snickered, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his coat, before explaining which car was Papyrus’.

            I waved goodnight, before heading out the door. I found Pap’s car, a bright red convertible, and got inside. Immediately, I had to move the seat forward almost a complete foot, just so my foot would reach the gas and the break. I fumbled to turn on the car, before driving through the now silent Monster District, and into the normal city.

            I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel lightly, pulling up to my apartment complex. Actually, in the back of it. I parked where nobody else ever goes, knowing the car would probably get vandalized if I didn’t. I locked the doors, keys in hand, before walking around the building and inside. I breathed out a sigh of relief.

            For once, I decided to simply take the stairs instead of that sketchy-ass elevator, this small pump of energy making it worth-while to simply make the hike up to the third floor, and down the hall to my apartment.

            I wasn’t greeted by Asclepius as I entered, and was momentarily worried. Though, when I entered my bedroom, there he was, fast asleep at the foot of my bed as if I were there with him. I felt guilty, always leaving him up here. Maybe tomorrow I could take him for a walk when I got home. He really deserved one.

            I stripped down and got into more comfortable sleepwear, placing the keys of Papy’s car on the nightstand beside my bed. I got into bed, huddling up under the blankets. Asclepius moved his head, resting them on my legs. I smiled at the innocent gesture, murmuring a soft ‘goodnight’ to the dog, before shutting my eyes and falling fast asleep.

 

            The next morning was another late morning, though not nearly as much as it had been the other day. I was thankful it was Friday, so I had two days to do absolutely nothing but sleep. Or work. Yeah, definitely won’t be working anytime soon.

            I showered and got dressed, wearing another pair of fairly decent clothes since I’d for some reason decided I wanted to look fairly decent today. I braided my hair, before tugging the hood up on my coat and wandering out with a soft goodbye to Asclepius. The poor dog. I felt bad always leaving him alone in such a small apartment.

            Sighing, I walked to Papyrus’ car, which thankfully hadn’t been vandalized over the night. As I got inside, my phone buzzed.

            **a very bonely skeleton | 6:46 a.m. – hey paps was totally cool with you taking the car in case you were worried**

Oddly enough, the first thought that crossed through my mind wasn’t the fact that Papyrus was fine with me taking his car. It was about why the skeleton was awake so early. He didn’t exactly seem like the type of person who’d wake up early every morning. In fact, quite the opposite. And he’d never mentioned having a job. So, of course, I had every reason to be curious as to why he’d be awake already.

            After a few moments, I decided to simply shake of the thought and wonder about it another time.

            **Me | 6:48 a.m. – Thanks Sans. I’ll see u after school right???**

**the very bonely skeleton | 6:49 a.m. – yup. i’ll see ya right outside the gates of your school. what time u get out?**

**Me | 6:50 a.m. – 10:30.**

**the very bonely skeleton | 6:51 a.m. – gotcha. i’ll see ya then, mismatch ;)**

I smiled at the usual nickname, putting my phone in my pocket. I started the car, and happily drove to the school. Alphys was there, so not only was I seeing one friend today, but I’d also get to spend time in class with her.

            The ‘otta be interesting.

            I parked in the parking lot, once again making sure to lock the car doors. As I began walking to the doors, I was stopped by none other than the creepiest person on Earth.

            “Good morning, Adrian,” Dr. Weston greeted, catching up to walk beside me.

            I held back from cringing. He walked too close for my liking, so I awkwardly shifted away. Of course, he only moved closer once more. Well, _shit_. I clenched my jaw slightly to keep from saying anything stupid.

            “I see that you have some serious bruising from that punch. Oh, doll, I’m so sorry.”

            **_Doll?_**

 _Doll._ I had no idea where that nickname came from, but it instantly made a pit form in the bottom of my stomach, and I involuntarily shuddered. I hugged my upper arms, speeding up to get to class, even though I was only heading to his class.

            “Um, yeah, I guess he hit me pretty hard…” I mumbled.

            “You know, you really shouldn’t get yourself into so much trouble, Adrian. Wouldn’t want any more bruises on that pretty face of yours.”

            Once again, another shudder ran down my spine. I gripped the keys in my hand tightly.

            Now, it was not illegal for a professor and their student to have a relationship, as long as it didn’t influence their grades. But this fucker was almost ten years older than me, if not more. I was only nineteen, and had no intention of dating a potentially thirty-year-old man. And clearly, this creep was hardcore trying to get in my pants.

            I didn’t respond as I entered the class. I immediately went to where Alphys was seated, and took the empty seat beside her. The lizard woman tiredly grinned toward me, before letting out a large yawn, looking toward the front of the class.

            I looked down at my hand, where I’d previously been clutching my keys. Small droplets of blood formed at where the edges of the key had dug into my palm. I bit my lip, putting the key in my pocket. I hid my hand beneath the desk, not wanting Alphys to see the small injury and worry.

            It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her. I did, of course I did. It’s just that… Telling someone your English professor won’t leave you alone with the hardcore flirting was a bit weird. I didn’t want to be the student who looked like she was having an affair with her teacher. Nor did I want to be the student who seemed to only be passing because of this affair.

            _Shit. I hoped that wasn’t why my grades were so good._

I almost groaned, fiddling with the sleeve of my coat, before taking it off as the room suddenly seemed much hotter with these thoughts running through my head.

            The lecture began, and I made a point to focus on everything that _wasn’t_ the professor. I focused on everything from the walls, to the desk, and even to the backs of the heads of the other students. Yet, despite my efforts, I could still feel Dr. Weston’s eyes digging into me from the front of the classroom.

            When the bell rang, I don’t think I’d ever gotten up so quick. I fumbled to gather my things. Alphys looked up at me.

            “U-Um, A-Adrian. A-Are you alright?”

            I forced a smile onto my lips, nodding.

            “Yeah. I’m fine… Just a little stressed, that’s all.”

            After I’d said the words, I realized that they might be true. I was never this nervous. Dr. Weston stared at me more often than not, so I had no reason to be this nervous. Maybe I really was just stressed out between school and losing my job.

            Alphys blinked twice, before smiling and nodding. She patted my shoulder lightly, before beginning to gather her own things.

            “W-Well, I’m always here if you want to talk!” She piped up happily.

            Her words were more comforting than I expected. This time, my smile wasn’t forced.

            “Thanks, Alph,” I put on my coat, “I’ll text you later tonight!”

            I heard her laugh as I walked off, heading toward the door. It wasn’t until I felt a hand on my arm that I paused. Of course, it was none other than the professor. I smiled at him, though it was a sickly sweet smile.

            “I can’t stay,” I spoke before he could.

            For a split second, I was almost certain that I saw a flash of anger run through his eyes. I didn’t pay much attention, already moving away and heading out the door. I got out Papyrus’ keys, letting out a shaky sigh as I walked, momentarily forgetting that I’d be accompanied by a certain skeleton.

            Just as I left the doors of the building-

            “hey, kid.”

            I jumped, letting out a loud yelp. I almost managed to catch my balance, before my foot slid on the ice on the sidewalk. A hand grabbed my arm, yanking me back to my feet. Another hand was placed on my mid-back, keeping me balanced. I blinked twice, before looking at the culprit, and also my savior. Of course, it was none other than Sans.

            The skeleton shot me a smug smirk, raising a brow bone.

            “could you be any clumsier?”

            I pouted, straightening up. He removed his hands, stuffing them back in the pockets of his coat.

            “Honestly, yes, I could,” I answered the sarcastic question with a semi-sarcastic answer.

            Sans snickered, shaking his head, snatching the keys from my hand. I saw him falter for just a second. I hoped he hadn’t seen the cut on my hand, and quickly shoved it in my pocket.

            “no more _key_ dding around, kid,” he chuckled, “don’t wanna have you freezing your skin off.”

            I smiled at the pun, walking beside him to where I’d parked the car. Sans’ eyes seemed to be scanning it for any damage, and slouched when he found none. I got in the passenger’s seat. Sans tried to squeeze into the driver’s, snickering, and shot me a smug look. I immediately knew what he was going to say before he even said it.

            “shorty.”

            “Shut up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Yep, the goal for the title of this chapter was to make y'all believe she was cuddling with a certain punny skeleton. Sorry for the trickery, but I couldn't help myself. Besides, who wouldn't want to cuddle with Pap?  
> *This chapter honestly turned out wayyyy better than I expected. I actually love how it turned out, and I'm really proud of where this story is going.  
> **pats self on back**  
> *Good job, Com.


	7. In Which Crying is Sometimes a Necessity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I felt a boney hand lightly grab my upper arm and help me to my feet. A large scarf wrapped around my neck, and the first thing that crossed my mind was the fact that it smelled exactly like Papyrus, like the faint smell of spaghetti with a hazier smell that I couldn’t quite pinpoint.

            The next few weeks were filled with a more lighthearted mood. I constantly saw my monster friends, even when it hadn’t been planned. Oddly enough, I seemed to constantly be running into at least one of them every day.

            For example…

            I’d run into Toriel at the grocery store when I’d finally gotten off my lazy-ass and went shopping. Then, I’d run into Papyrus when I was at the pet store buying food for Asclepius. I’d asked why he was there, and he said he came once every week to pet the puppies and kittens. Yep, definitely something a Papyrus would do. Not even a day later, I’d run into his brother as I walked past their house on another early morning to school. Of course, Sans decided to walk with me, and we pretty much just babbled out puns the whole way.

            So, I had absolutely no reason to complain about my life, other than the fact that I didn’t have a job and my bills were becoming _very_ late. It wasn’t that I wasn’t searching for a job. Of course I had been. Everywhere I looked said that they either weren’t looking, or I didn’t make it through the interview.

            Yet, despite that drag down, I managed to keep my head lifted and the situation to myself. I didn’t have much money left, and I hadn’t been eating as much due to my priorities being that I made sure my dog was well-fed. What? Surprised? Of course I put Asclepius first. I _always_ put him first. After all, he was the only family I had.

            So, my job searching became more urgent. Not only was I slightly starving myself, I was also on the verge of being kicked out of my apartment. Even as big of a piece of shit as it was, it was certainly better than sleeping out on the freezing cold streets. Especially in this weather, the thought seemed much less appealing.

            Though, I supposed that luck was not in my favor.

 

            “Please, sir. I really need this job! I’ll stay in the back, I just really need to make a bit of money!” I tried to plead for the man to hire me.

            “I’m sorry, ma’am, but you just don’t fit our qualifications.”

            I stood up abruptly, and left without another word.

            Yet another failed job interview. I had no idea what I’d done wrong to deserve this. Why wouldn’t anyone hire me? I just needed a small job where I could at least make enough money to keep my apartment and my dog fed.

            Not only that, but my fucking apartment landlord lady called and decided to inform me today that I would be kicked out in five days unless I could get the money for my bills. There was no _way_ I could make enough money within five days to pay off that bill. Not unless I managed to find a job and I worked my little ass off.

            I felt tears pool in my eyes, and stopped damn near in the middle of the sidewalk. My legs refused to move forward anymore. Tears dripped from my chin, down to the snow beneath me. I reached my hands up, wiping the tears from my face, but they seemed nonstop.

            Maybe I was never going to find a job. Maybe this was all my life would ever be. Maybe this was all just some big scheme to get me to go crawling back to my parents.

            No, I couldn’t let that happen. As unappealing as the thought of living on the streets was, it was certainly better than living with my parents. It was better than being forced to wear colored contacts to hide my eyes due to them being “asymmetrical”, as my parents always used to claim.

            _“Just put them in, honey,” my father urged as he handed me the box of contacts._

_“Why?”_

_My mother scoffed, crossing her arms. She stared down at me, giving me this disapproving look, as if my questioning was the most disrespectful thing on the planet._

_“Because rich girls are perfect, and we don’t want to be embarrassed by a defective daughter. They aren’t asymmetrical, like you are, Adriaana,” she hissed._

I recalled the physical pang in my chest from my mother’s cruel words. In fact, I could almost feel it all over again. I was only six years old when I’d started wearing those contacts, all to appease those damn people who I sadly called family.

            I felt my footing slip on some eyes, and fell onto my knees in the cold snow.

            _Then, I completely humiliated myself._

I started crying. Yep, I was literally sobbing as I sat in the snow on my knees. Apparently falling even made me cry now. But hell, I figured I deserved to cry, even for a little bit. Life seemed to be literally screwing me over right now, and I couldn’t seem to push myself back up on my feet this time. I _really_ just wanted to cry.

            So, I did. People ignored me, passing by me with concerned glances, or they mumbled to their friends about me. Yet, I couldn’t even force myself to care. At this point, I just wanted to cry, even if it was in the middle of town and on my knees in the freezing cold snow.

            “hey, kid, you’re looking a bit down in the dumps…”

            “SANS, NOT THE TIME!”

            I fig my fingers into the snow at the last two people I wanted to see me like this. I didn’t even look up at them.

            I felt a boney hand lightly grab my upper arm and help me to my feet. A large scarf wrapped around my neck, and the first thing that crossed my mind was the fact that it smelled exactly like Papyrus, like the faint smell of spaghetti with a hazier smell that I couldn’t quite pinpoint.

            _Well, no shit, Sherlock. It **was** his scarf._

“COME ON, HUMAN. WE MUST GET YOU WARMED UP, IT IS FREEZING COLD OUT HERE!”

            I didn’t speak as they took me to their car, the three of us walking in this super tense silence. I mean, what exactly was I supposed to say? They literally just found me sitting on my ass in the snow, literally bawling my eyes out. I couldn’t have imagined a more humiliating situation than the one they’d found me in.

            So, I stayed silent the whole way to wherever the skeletons were taking me. They blasted the heat to warm me up, and I felt guilty as I saw a bit of condensation form on their skulls from sweat.

            _Great. Now you’ve made them suffer just so you can be warm. Getting off to a real good start here, Adrian._

Once the car pulled into a garage, I realized they must have taken me to their house. Papyrus shut off the car, and the two skeletons went to my side of the car, helping me out. I shuddered just a bit, my clothes and hair soaking wet from sitting out in the snow.

            Papyrus helped me take off my coat, gloves, and hat, along with the scarf he’d kindly allowed me to borrow.

            “I SHALL WASH AND DRY THESE, HUMAN! YOU MAY USE OUR SHOWER AND YOU CAN BORROW SOME OF OUR CLOTHES UNTIL THESE ARE FINISHED! I SHALL TAKE THE REST OF YOUR CLOTHES WHEN YOU HAVE NEW ONES ON!”

            The lanky skeleton wandered off. Sans sighed a bit.

            “come on, kid. i’ll get ya some clothes.”

            He gave two soft pats on my back, guiding me into the house. Oddly enough, the smell was the immediate thing I recognized, followed by the warmth and the hominess of it. It was like any other home, but there was a more comforting feeling about the house that I wished I’d felt every time I entered my own home.

            Sans guided me up a staircase and down a small hallway. There were two doors on one side, and two doors on the other side. Sans had me wait outside one of the doors while he went inside. I fidgeted, finally deciding that I should really just speak up before I made these skeletons go through so much trouble to take care of me.

            When Sans came back, that’s when I did.

            “I-I can just go home…” I said quietly, staring down at my hands. “I-I’m really sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you two.”

            The skeleton huffed, and my gaze raised to meet his. He now had his arms crossed, and was staring at me with a rather intense gaze.

            “are you crazy? you’re dripping wet, and we literally just found you sitting in the snow crying. no way in hell is papyrus, or i for that matter, going to let you go back out there.”

            Why was this damn guy so blunt about everything? He literally managed to make me feel like a complete idiot whenever something like this happened. Though, I suppose that I deserved it. It’s not just any genius who sits in the freezing cold weather to _fucking cry._

“so, adrian, just take the damn clothes and get in the shower so you can warm up.”

            I knew it was being serious when he actually used my name. It wasn’t often that Sans used my name. In fact, I don’t recall him ever using anything other than “kid”, “mismatch”, or “bruises”. Truthfully, I’d began thinking he’d forgotten my name completely and was too prideful to ask for it again. I suppose I should have given him more credit.

            “Alright,” I sighed, “thank you.”

            Sans handed the clothes to me, his hands immediately returning to his pockets afterward. He nodded, and guided me to the bathroom, which was just down the hall. He opened the door and turned on the light. He got out a towel from beneath the sink, shoving that in my arms as well.

            “i’ll go make ya some hot chocolate. just leave your wet clothes outside the door. paps’ll pick ‘em up to wash and dry them,” Sans smiled just a bit.

            With that, he left. He walked down the stairs, before disappearing out of sight. I stood in the doorway for a moment, before shutting the door. I didn’t bother to lock it, knowing that the two skeletons wouldn’t bother to barge in. That, and it was a habit for me not to bother locking the door. I mean, I lived alone in my apartment, so why would I bother?

            I stripped out of my sopping wet clothes, stumbling as the fabric of my leggings stuck to my leg. I finally managed to peel them off, followed by my shirt and undergarments. I turned on the shower, waiting for the water to reach the ideal temperature, before stepping in. My skin was covered in gooseflesh, which slowly faded as the hot water warmed my body. I sighed in relief, using my hands to scrub the coldness from my skin.

            Of course, skeletons didn’t have hair, so there was no shampoo or conditioner in the bathroom. I washed my hair with nothing but the water, before shutting off the water and wrapping the towel around my body. I used my slightly damp undergarments (which I was thankfully smart enough not to leave in the hallway), before putting on the clothes that Sans had given me.

            Immediately, my cheeks went bright red.

            They were fucking _huge._

The t-shirt was obviously Sans’, reading “world’s laziest brother”, and I assumed the shorts he’d given me were also his. Not only because they were huge, but because for some reason Sans always wore shorts, and these seemed like something he’d wear. They fell down to my knees, and I had to tie the string to keep them around my waist.

            I exited the bathroom, expecting to trip over the clothes I’d left in the hallway. Instead, as Sans and Papyrus had promised, they were not there. From downstairs, I could hear the brother’s talking amongst themselves about something called “Friendship Spaghetti”.

            I descended the stairs, walking to where the skeleton brothers were talking, which was the kitchen. Papyrus was wearing more casual clothes now, which consisted of sweatpants and a white t-shirt. It was odd to see him in such a…domestic environment.

            “oh, hey, mismatch. feeling _spag_ -better?”

            “UGH, SANS!”

            I smiled at the two, looking down at my feet awkwardly.

            “Yes… Um, thank you, very much.”

            “OF COURSE, ADRIAN! WE COULD NOT SIMPLY LEAVE YOU SITTING IN THE SNOW WITHOUT DOING SOMETHING TO HELP!”

            I fidgeted, an awkward silence filling the kitchen, aside from the sizzling of the spaghetti that Papyrus was obviously making. Yet, neither skeleton asked me what I was doing out there in the first place, simply leaving the question to themselves, which I was certain was there. Still, I was thankful for it. I really didn’t feel like explaining my craziness to the two.

            Not yet, anyway.

            “I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE MADE YOU SOME FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI, HUMAN!”

            Sans snorted, leaning against the counter, looking up at his brother. After a moment, he looked at me, smirking.

            “that means you’re officially being initiated as his friend.”

            “NOT TRUE! IT SIMPLY MEANS I WISH TO SHARE MY AMAZING FRIENDSHIP WITH YOU! THE HUMAN WAS ALREADY MY FRIEND, SANS!”

            The shorter skeleton shot me a smug look, and I covered my mouth to contain my giggles. Papyrus rolled his eye lights, grabbing the pot and setting it on the dining table. He took off his “Kiss the ~~Cook~~ Great Papyrus” apron, along with the gloves that he always seemed to be wearing.

            “YOU ARE ALSO PARTAKING IN THE EATING OF MY EXTRAVAGANT SPAGHETTI, BROTHER!”

            I saw Sans stiffen just slightly, before he awkwardly shambled to one of the seats and stiffly sat down. Both skeletons were looking at me now, waiting for me to sit down. I did so, sitting beside Sans. He leaned to my ear.

            “watch out, this stuff can be deadly…”

            I wasn’t sure if it was a poor joke or the actual truth. The spaghetti looked perfectly fine as Papyrus put it on plates and handed it to us. I shot a confused look toward Sans, who, in turn, shot me a smirk.

            “i think the human should be the one to take the first bite,” he chuckled.

            I knew my answer with those simple words. Yep, he wasn’t joking. This stuff was going to taste like shit. Yet, seeing the excited look in Papyrus’ eyes, I couldn’t **_not_** eat the spaghetti. Then again, I wasn’t quite sure if I was mentally or physically prepared for a challenge like this.

            “Oh no, I really think you should be the first. After all, you _are_ his brother.”

            This time, it was my turn to smirk. Sans shot me a playful glare, left eye flaring up with a faint blue color. He was about to argue, before Papyrus piped up and interrupted the forming argument.

            “HOW ABOUT YOU BOTH EAT IT AT THE SAME TIME? THIS WILL SOLVE YOUR DISPUTE!”

            Sans and I immediately shot each other a simultaneous glare, though it was all in good fun. We got our own forkfuls of the spaghetti, staring at each other as we slowly brought the forks to our mouths, before taking a bite. I had to keep back from coughing at the taste, and Sans seemed to be doing the same. His skull became tinted in a slight blue, and he forced himself to swallow (which I didn’t bother to question the logic of), before putting his fork down very calmly and looking at his brother.

            “y-yeah, big bro. best spaghetti i’ve ever had.”

            _Wait._

            _Hold the fucking phone._

_**Big** bro?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A bit of a more serious chapter, up until the end when Papyrus makes his phenomenal spaghetti. But hey, I mean, who could actually turn down eating Papyrus' spaghetti?  
> *The truth of the matter is simply that his little brother and friend would do anything for him. Yep, even if that involves eating potentially poisonous spaghetti.


	8. In Which Dirty Jokes Fix Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Knock knock.”
> 
> “who’s there?”
> 
> “Anita.”
> 
> “Anita who?” Sans raised a bone-brow, not understanding where the joke was going.
> 
> I smirked in response.
> 
> “Anita dick inside me.”

            _Big bro. Papyrus was… **the older brother** …_

I tried to silently process this new bit of information through my head, now having forgotten the awful spaghetti I had previously been trying to chew, and focused on the fact that these two brothers had yet again thrown another spiked brick of shock into my face.

            It wasn’t like I’d thought about it much. I mean, I guess it never occurred to me. Yet, I guess I’d immediately assumed that Sans was the older brother simply because he…well… he was the more mature one. As much as I loved Papyrus, I’d immediately pegged him as the little brother due to his more childish nature.

            Though, this would explain some things.

            For example, the purpose behind why Papyrus seemed to constantly be taking care of Sans, and the fact that Sans seemed much more laid back and, frankly, lazier than his older brother. It would also, perhaps, explain the height difference.

            Still, I found the new piece of information a bit hard to wrap my head around.

            I swallowed the spaghetti, now moving to simply poke at the food while I watched Sans smile at his brother, who had the most triumphant look on his face, eyes glowing a soft orange color. A smile of my own spread across my lips and my previous thoughts were forgotten.

            _Now I saw it._

Sans looked _up_ to his brother. Of course, literally and figuratively. I saw the slight envy in his eyes as he stared at his older brother, who was completely oblivious to Sans’ emotions. I wondered what Sans could possibly be envious of? I mean, there were many great things about Papyrus, but Sans was pretty damn great to. I wondered if he lacked self-pride. Papyrus obviously had quite a bit, but I realized that Sans hadn’t once brought himself up in a good light, or at all, really.

            “HUMAN, HOW DID YOU ENJOY THE FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI!?”

            I giggled, looking down at the plate. I took another bite, my taste buds now shot, and shot him a thumbs up.

            “It’s great, Papyrus.”

            We continued our dinner, happily babbling on about jokes, stories, or other random topics. I hadn’t even realized that my mood had completely gone from feeling completely defeated, to feeling like the luckiest girl on Earth.

            These two skeletons were gradually becoming two people whom I could consider to be my best friends. They were certainly more than just your average friend, at least. No matter what they thought of me, I most definitely considered them to be my best friends. I was very grateful to be here, and to have been the one girl lucky enough to have been sitting alone at the diner on the fateful afternoon.

            It wasn’t long before I had to return home. I tried to help Papyrus with the dishes, only to be kicked out with him ordering Sans to “TAKE ME HOME BEFORE I TRIED TO HELP HIM WITH THE DISHES”. I giggled as I scrambled out, looking at the skeleton lazily lounging on the couch. He groaned, throwing his head back.

            “i don’t wanna!”

            I smiled, patting him on his skull. I held my clean, dry clothes in my left arm, which Papyrus had been kind enough to get for me.

            “I can go alone, don’t worry about me.”

            Sans snorted, standing up. He walked toward the door.

            “nah, i’m just kiddin’ with ya, mismatch. i’d be honored to walk you home,” he winked, chuckling.

            I trailed after him, calling a loud goodbye to Papyrus after I put on my shoes. Sans shut the door behind me, and we began walking. As much as I’d have preferred to drive there, I didn’t say anything. I took note from the other day how Sans clearly didn’t like driving. I wasn’t sure why, but I certainly wasn’t going to make him do something he wasn’t comfortable with.

            Still, curiousity was gnawing at me. I wondered if it had something to do with that eye of his. I wondered if it was broken in some way. I mean, of course I’d taken note of all the little details about these two skeletons. I was always more observant than I was ever given credit for.

            Of course I’d noticed the way that _both_ of Papyrus’ eyes glowed earlier. And of course I’d noticed the way that only _one_ of Sans’ glowed. I also noticed the roughness of the bone in his right socket, unlike his left one. Then, there was that point-blank crack just beneath the socket. It almost seemed like a scar, since over the past few weeks it hadn’t seemed to be healing. I assumed it was just a skeleton’s way of scarring.

            _Damn, Adrian, you’re looking way too close into the details of the situation._

“thanks for eating the spaghetti,” Sans finally spoke, chuckling, “he’s still working on the cooking aspect, but at least it’s edible now.”

            I giggled at the words, imagining what Papyrus’ old spaghetti could have possibly looked, smelled, or tasted like.

            “He’s my friend. There was no way in hell I was going to admit that it was bad.”

            Sans chuckled once more, looking down at me. The small lights in his eyes dimmed slightly, and he seemed to almost relax.

            “can i ask ya a question?”

            I immediately knew what it was going to be.

            “Shoot it at me.”

            “why were ya out in the snow? you could have gotten hurt, adrian.”

            Again with using my name, huh? I knew this was a serious conversation, just because of the use of my first name. I decided against shooting back with some smart-ass remark, or a sarcastic answer. It took me a few moments to form a proper answer in my head, and it didn’t involve the complete truth.

            “I’d just had a really bad day,” I sighed.

            “must’ve been one hell of a bad day…”

            _Sans knew I wasn’t telling him everything._

I immediately looked down at my shoes, feeling his eyes dig into me. I swallowed my nervousness, wanting to gather the courage and look him in the eyes. I wanted to tell him, but I knew it’d most likely result in him telling Papyrus, who’d tell **_everyone._** And frankly, the thought of my personal business being shoved in everyone else’s faces wasn’t exactly something I considered an appealing thought.

            Thankfully, Sans didn’t question me any further.

            We walked in a faintly stiff silence. This was how things usually got between Sans and I. We were two of the most awkward people on Earth. Especially me. _Or just me._ Frankly, I couldn’t tell anymore. Still, I mentally racked my brain for something to say to Sans to make this silence go away. I mean, I wanted this guy to be my friend.

            “Knock knock.” I finally piped up.

            The skeleton shot me a looked. He smirked, raising a brow bone.

            “who’s there?”

            “The armless child.”

            From the glint in his eyes, I could tell that he immediately knew where this joke was going. I mean, it was obvious. Thankfully, he played along.

            “the armless child who?”

            “Knock knock.”

            “who’s there?”

            “Not the armless child.”

            Sans snorted with laughter, shaking his head at my dark joke. I snickered at my own joke. It took a few moments, before we’d both burst into laughter. By the time we’d finished laughing, we were hunched over with tears practically streaming down our cheeks. I wiped the tears, giggling quietly. It was an awful joke, so I truthfully had no idea what we found so funny about it. Though, I supposed I could use the laughter in my life.

            “knock knock.”

            I smirked.

            “Who’s there?”

            “howie.”

            “Howie who?”

            “howie gonna hide the dead body?”

            I giggled, covering my mouth. I contained my laughter, taking his comeback as a challenge. I began fumbling through any old memories of shitty and dark jokes I’d heard over the years.

            “Knock knock.”

            “who’s there?”

            “Anita.”

            “Anita who?” Sans raised a bone-brow, not understanding where the joke was going.

            I smirked in response.

            “Anita dick inside me.”

            Sans coughed, his face going bright blue. After a moment, he was hunched over in laughter, clutching his stomach. Once he’d managed to calm down, he shot back.

            “knock knock.” He snickered.

            “Who’s there?”

            “dewey.”

            “Dewey who?”

            “dewey need to use a condom?”

            And thus started the dirty joke war. Yeah, we managed to tell **_a lot_** of dirty jokes in the short period of time that we walked. By the time we’d reached my apartment complex, we both had blushes spread across our faces, yet that didn’t halt our laughter. I mean, hell, this guy had a ton of amazing jokes.

            I giggled, looking up at the snickering skeleton.

            “Want to come inside for some hot chocolate?”

            I wasn’t really sure what came over me, and the moment the question had left my mouth, I found myself quickly reduced to a frantic and flustered state. Damnit, why would you ask that? Of course he wouldn’t-

            “sure, mismatch.”

            I blinked, looking up at him. He had a small blue blush across his cheeks, though his smile was as wide as ever. His hands were stuffed lazily in his pockets and he seemed… comfortable. More so than I’d ever seen him before. I mean, he always had a lazy posture, but this time he seemed very relaxed, I supposed.

            I smiled, before walking into the complex with him. It only took a half second before I was embarrassed that I’d invited him. I mean, this place was a piece of shit. His and Papyrus’ house was so much nicer. Like, **_way_** nicer. So, as I guided him to the shitty elevator which smelled like sex, sweat, and everything in between, I could feel my cheeks heating up to a gradual bright red.

            “Sorry about…well… This whole place,” I finally managed to get out.

            My voice came out with a small squeak. Now I remembered why I _never_ invited _anyone_ over. I was certain that the skeleton was judging me for every stain on the grimy walls of the elevator. Was that there yesterday?

            “don’t worry about it,” Sans answered, “ain’t your fault, i’m sure.”

            I walked with him to my apartment, unlocking the door. Before I opened it, I looked at him, smiling nervously.

            “Okay, so I have a dog. His name is Asclepius, but he won’t do anything. O-Oh, and I’m not exactly the cleanest person. I mean, I’m not like super messy, but I’m also not super clean. And-”

            “shut up,” Sans laughed, “just open the door. it’ll be fine.”

            I smiled, before opening the door, trying to shoo Asclepius away so he didn’t jump on top of the poor skeleton. The dog began barking frantically at the sight of him, clearly not used to seeing someone like Sans. I gulped, trying to hush him.

            “Asclepius, no!”

            I heard my neighbor’s door open. He looked in my direction, glaring.

            “Shut your damn dog up, will ya?!” He snapped.

            I looked at him, about to speak up, but unsure what to say. In truth, I’d actually never seen my neighbors. I’d always heard a ton of shit coming from their apartment, but knew better than to complain. Still, now that I’d seen him, he was pretty damn terrifying.

            “hey, leave ‘er alone. can’t you see she’s tryin’?” Sans snapped.

            I looked between the two men. Shit, this was a bad idea. I _really_ shouldn’t have invited Sans. First I embarrass myself and show him the disgusting conditions I’m living in, and now I might have just gotten him involved in a fight with my bat-shit crazy neighbor.

            “Well tell your girlfriend to hurry the fuck up!” The man snapped, before slamming his door shut.

            I grabbed Sans’ sleeve, dragging him into the apartment. I shut the door, before quickly working to get Asclepius into my bedroom. I shut him in, walking back to where Sans was waiting. I rubbed my arm, feeling like a complete idiot.

            “I-I’m really sorry. This was a bad idea…” I mumbled.

            Sans sighed. He fidgeted a bit.

            “no, don’t say that. you didn’t know that would happen.”

            “Y-Yeah, but it did. I’m really sorry, Sans. I-I’ll get you some hot chocolate and you can leave. I really screwed up, I’m sorry.”

            “kid-”

            “I should have thought things through but I didn’t and now-”

            “shut up, mismatch. everything is fine. you didn’t know your dog would act like that, and you didn’t know your neighbor would try to cause problems. it ain’t your fault, so quit acting like it.”

            I sighed, hugging my upper arms. I looked down at my shoes. I mean, yeah, I suppose there was this part of me that knew he was right. He wasn’t angry. His voice was calm and smooth, like it always seemed to be when I spoke with him. Yet, there was this nagging feeling in the back of my brain that I screwed up his whole night.

            Sans walked to me. He wrapped two boney arms around my shoulders, pulling me to his chest. I could feel his ribs beneath his hoodie. It wasn’t unpleasant, though. In fact, I found it to be quite the opposite.

            “Thank you, Sans,” I breathed.

            The skeleton’s shoulders slumped a bit. One hand rubbed the space between my shoulder blades lightly. It wasn’t inappropriate. Quite the opposite, actually. It was comforting, and helped push away all the negative thoughts that were slowly dragging me down. I didn’t want it to stop, and I didn’t want to let go.

            “hey, kid, why don’t ya make it up to me by making some pretty damn good hot chocolate?”

            The skeleton pulled back, grinning. He stuffed his hands in his pockets once more, head tilting slightly as he grinned.

            A blush rose to my cheeks, and I couldn’t help but grin. I saluted to him, before marching off to my kitchen.

            “Sir, yes, sir.” I laughed.

            The skeleton chuckled from behind me. I got out some hot chocolate mix, before beginning to heat up the milk in two nerdy coffee mugs.

            When the hot chocolates were finished, I carried the Star Wars and the Legend of Zelda mug to the skeleton. I held them both up, wearing a wide grin. All negative thoughts had been pushed aside completely. Sans looked between the two, bone brow raised and a smirk twitching at his mouth.

            “Link or Darth Vader?”

            “oh-ho-ho, kid. definitely going with the bad guy here. darth vader all the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Kind of a piece of shit chapter, honestly. I didn't like where this went, and I was just having a writer's block moment involving where this chapter was going.   
> *Yes, this will be a slow burn, so don't get your hopes up too high, huehue... Just joking, get all your hopes up.  
> *Joking again. Never take me seriously.  
> *Also, these jokes do NOT belong to me. I am not a funny person XD


	9. In Which Creeps Don't Leave You Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I sighed, staring out the window. Blake had gone completely silent, and I definitely wasn’t planning on starting any. Thankfully, we made it to the school without so much as another word. I mumble a “thank you”, quickly getting out of the car.

            That was probably one of the best nights I’d ever had. Sans and I ended up watching some old horror movie, but mostly talked through the whole thing. The only time we actually paid any attention to the movie was when someone was dying or something gory was happening. Afterward, we’d just talk about how disgusting it was and shoot puns back and forth.

            Eventually even Asclepius had warmed up to the giant skeleton. In fact, by the end of the night the damn mutt was sprawled out on his lap.

            Sans snorted, looking down at the dog. His hand lightly stroked Asclepius’ ears.

            “your dog is weird,” he chuckled.

            “I know,” I laughed.

            “when’d ya get him?” He asked.

            I smiled, lightly rubbing the mutt’s stomach. He was practically crashed on Sans’ lap, tongue hanging out.

            “A year ago. I found him out on the street. You ever seen one of those sad videos or things of when people just leave puppies out on the street in a box? Well… I found him like that. He was alone and freezing, so I took him in and I guess…here we are.”

            Sans looked at me.

            “so you just found him on the street? why would someone do that?”         

            The complete incredulity that showed in his eyes at the fact that someone would do that to an innocent creature was more evident than any other emotion. Clearly, where he’d come from, monsters just didn’t do that. I was…envious… of whatever lifestyle the monsters had chosen to live. It was without a doubt far better than the choices humans had made over the years.

            “I guess humans are just terrible people…” I sighed, looking down at my hands.

            We fell into silence for the first time that night. The TV had been paused, since neither of us were paying any mind to the movie anyway. In the silence between us, the sound of my neighbor’s yelling became present, and I wished I had something more to say.

            “this place is dangerous for you, mismatch,” Sans piped up.

            I sighed, rubbing my arm, laughing a bit.

            “You’re telling that to the girl who can’t afford anything better.”

            Sans looked down at Asclepius. He stroked the sleeping dog’s ears, letting out a sigh.

            “Don’t worry about me, Sans. My neighbors have never laid a hand on me before. I’ll survive,” I tried to reassure him.

            “they could, though. promise that if they do anything that makes you uncomfortable, scared, or anything else, you’ll call me. or you’ll call undyne or someone that’ll help you without an ounce of hesitation.”

            I smiled. The skeleton looked at me. He was being dead serious. I nodded, lightly smacking his humerous.

            “Don’t worry, Boner. There’s no one I’d rather call,” I laughed.

            Sans groaned, throwing his head back, laughing.

            “stop calling me that!” He whined, but his grin told me he’d rather I kept the nickname.

            We fell into a more peaceful silence this time, without the stiffness from before. After a moment, Asclepius had jumped off Sans’ lap and wandered off to another part of the apartment. I checked the time.

            “Shit, it’s 1:45 a.m. Damn, and I have class tomorrow,” I laughed.

            The skeleton chuckled, standing up. He stretched his arms, an audible _crack_ coming from the joints. I must’ve been visibly cringing, because he snickered afterward.

            “yeah, i’d better get going too.”

            Sans looked at me. He smiled, holding out his hand. I raised a brow, putting my hand in his. He yanked me up, arms wrapping around my shoulders in an embrace. Once again, my cheeks gradually warmed up to a beet red color.

            _Calm yourself, Adrian. It’s just a hug._

“Thanks for staying, Sans.”

            “anytime, kiddo,” he chuckled, pulling away, “now. don’t freak out. i’m takin’ a shortcut home. i’ll see ya later, kid.”

            I was about to speak up with my confusion, before the skeleton was gone. My eyes went wider than serving plates, and I was certain that I looked like the biggest idiot with my jaw down to the carpeted floor.

            _Did he just fucking teleport? What the actual hell?_

I stood there for a solid five minutes, waving at the air where he’d just previously been standing. It felt like… _air._ I mean, I don’t really know that I’d expected. Maybe for there to just be an actual void in the middle of my living room. There wasn’t. There was just empty air, with no oddities that would have been an indicator that a skeleton had literally just been standing there.

            Eventually I had to force myself to push away the shock and simply go to my room. I curled up in bed, mind still reeling with random thoughts.

            Asclepius curled up on the bed with me. Once the feeling of safety came over me as he laid his head on my calves, I shut my eyes and slowly fell asleep.

 

            The snow was beginning to melt when I’d started my walk to snow. No, not because winter was almost over, but the complete opposite. It was the middle of November, almost Thanksgiving. By _almost_ Thanksgiving, I meant that Thanksgiving was literally in three days. Two of those three days I would be going to class and searching for a job. On the third day I’d just watch Charlie Brown and eat some cheap ramen with Asclepius.

            Though, maybe without the cheap ramen.

            Frankly, I didn’t have enough money to afford it. I needed to save whatever I could on Asclepius and for when I really needed food. Right now I was living off whatever I had in my kitchen, which was slowly going down in stock.

            Frankly, as much as I’d love to celebrate Thanksgiving by stuffing as much turkey, mashed potatoes, and whatever other food I could get my hands on, I simply didn’t have the money. I supposed that the smell of whatever food my neighbors cooked would have to satisfy me.

            Sighing, I exited the apartment complex with my phone in hand. Today was nice, which was the reason the snow was melting. By tomorrow I suspected that the snow would be back, since that’s usually how things worked around here. Still, I was grateful for one day that I didn’t have to trudge through one foot of snow. Instead, I sludged my way through the gross slush. Still, it was better than snow.

            “Need a lift?”

            I looked up, seeing a black Ford Explorer had pulled up beside me. I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat. I could feel my heart physically drop. Dr. Weston was pulled up beside me, asking me if I wanted a ride.

            _Fuck, shit, piss._

Damn. And my morning had been going so good before. I mean, I’d even managed to wake up early enough to give Asclepius a walk.

            _Come on, Adrian. Think of a stupid excuse. Think of a stupid excuse._

“Oh, no thank you, Dr. Weston. I’d much rather walk.”

            Dr. Weston chuckled, leaning over to the passenger’s side, opening the door. He leaned back to his seat.

            “Please, call me Blake, as long as we’re outside the classroom. And don’t worry about it. We’re going to the same place, aren’t we? Just let me give you a ride.”

            _Oh great. Now this guy and I were apparently on a first name basis._

“W-Well, I’d really rather just walk-”

            “You walk every day. Come on, I won’t bite.”

            I gulped, finally getting in the car. I shut the door, pulling my phone from my pocket and holding it in my hand. He began driving, and I stared out the window silently. I hoped he would just stay silent and take me to school without a fuss.

            _Sadly, I’m not that lucky._

“So, how come I always see you walking to school?”

            I mentally groaned. How in the _hell_ did he see me walking every day? I didn’t live near here. I knew for a fact that he didn’t live in my area. I mean, hell, he obviously had enough money to live pretty well-off. He had nice cloths, a hella nice car, and just his stature in itself made him seem like he had plenty of money.

            So my question was why the hell he was driving through my grimy, creepy neighborhood?

            “I like walking,” I lied, grumbling.

            “That can’t be true. I mean, it’s freezing cold out there.”

            “Well, it is.”

            I was being an asshole. Yeah, I knew I was. But he was diving way too far into my business and I just didn’t have the patience for it today. Nope, not today. In fact, probably never.

            It was getting to a point where it was becoming painfully obvious that I hated this man. I was half-certain he knew. Yet, at the same time, he kept on with whatever conversation he could get his grimy, rich hands on.

            “Alright. Well, where do you live? I can pick you up from now on. Can’t have you freezing to death out here.”

            _Oh hell no._ That was _not ever_ happening. I was not going to tell him where I lived, and I definitely wasn’t going to accept a ride from this creeper. I mean, it was a kind offer and everything, but there was no way that I would accept a ride from my professor. In fact, today wasn’t even supposed to happen. I was just supposed to walk to school, maybe even run into Sans on my way in since he always seemed to be standing outside smoking whenever I passed his and Paps’ house.

            “No thank you, sir. I’d prefer to keep walking every morning…”

            “Oh, stop it with this ‘sir’ bullshit, Adrian,” he laughed, “and just let me give you a ride. That way you won’t freeze to death every morning. I’d hate to hear you died of hypothermia.”

            _And then, I said something stupid._

            “Oh, well, I have someone I walk with, so I can’t bail on _him_.”

            I regretted my words quicker than I said them. I obviously had no one to walk with, especially no one who was a male. Still, maybe he’d leave me alone if I made it seem like I was walking with a guy.

            “Him?”

            I could almost feel the anger that boiled off of him. Oh shit, here it comes. You’re gonna be kidnapped and hidden in a creepy thirty-year-old, rich guy’s basement. Yep, you screwed yourself, Adrian. Say your goodbyes while you can.

            I didn’t answer that time. We simply continued our drive in silence. As we passed Sans’ house, I saw the skeleton waiting outside. He caught my eye, and I watched his brow bones raise in surprise. A thought crossed my mind.

            _Why didn’t I just ask Sans to walk me to school?_

I mean, he’d walked me twice before. I figured that if I asked him to walk me until I could afford a car, he would. I mean… I hoped so anyway. In fact, I _really_ hoped so. If not, then this creep was going to find out that I’d been lying to him and he’d nag me on and on about picking me up.

            I sighed, staring out the window. Blake had gone completely silent, and I definitely wasn’t planning on starting any. Thankfully, we made it to the school without so much as another word. I mumble a “thank you”, quickly getting out of the car.

            I hurried into the building, not wanting anyone to see me getting out of my professor’s truck. First of all, the image would immediately send a bad image through everyone’s head, and I couldn’t blame them. That, and I did not want people to start expecting me to be getting a free ride every morning.

            I met Alphys inside, and was happy to see her. She waved to me happily. I sat beside her, setting my things down.

            “How was your weekend, Adrian?” She asked curiously.

            I wasn’t sure whether to tell her about the interesting evening with the skeleton brothers, or the fact that Sans had ended up staying over and watching movies with me. And there was no hesitation in the fact that I was definitely not going to tell her about the fact I was going to get kicked out of my apartment in four days.

            So, against my better judgement, I simply answered with the answer that was completely wrong.

            “It was good.”

            The moment Dr. Weston entered, I wanted the class to be over with. Even though I’d spent two days without him being there, the strong desire to simply get away from the creep was beginning to be overwhelming. Still, even as thoughts of just ditching class for a few days seemed pretty great, I knew better. I knew that I needed this class, especially if I wanted to find a job.

            _Not that you ever will…_

I stopped myself immediately after the thought passed through my head. _No, that wasn’t true._ I’d someday find a job and I’d finally be happy. Someday I would buy an actual house for Asclepius and I. Someday, I was determined, I would find a job that paid so much I could rub how much money I had in my parent’s face.  

            Class was surprisingly short, at least it felt like it. In reality, I just hadn’t been paying any attention to the class so time flew by. For once, I couldn’t even try to care. I just wanted to hurry to Sans’ place and ask (though, I’m more likely to beg) him to walk me to school in the mornings.

            So, I practically ran out of the class. I didn’t even turn back when the professor had called me. I just pretended not to hear his call, just running out the doors of the classroom and scrambling out of the building.

            _I hoped he wouldn’t follow me out._

As the thought crossed my mind, I turned my head and looked behind me. My bottom lip dragged between my teeth in nervousness and I felt a piece of the skin tear. I turned my head forward just as a walked smack into a rock-hard chest.

            I rubbed my head, looking up at the poor person I’d run into. It was the same person I always seemed to be running into.

            “Sorry, Sans…” I grumbled, before realizing he had no reason to be here, “wait, Sans?”

            The skeleton snorted, rolling his eyes. He had a cigarette between his teeth, smoke slithering from every opening in his skull. His pinprick pupils looked down at me.

            “hey, kiddo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I want to apologize for not updating recently. It's a bit of a long story, so I'll shorten it for you guys. My dog was hit by a car and his leg was injured really bad.  
> *Basically, what I've been doing for the last two weeks is running back and fourth from the veterinary hospital, school, and work.  
> *This month will have slow updates, most likely. With it being December and the fact that I still have to run my dog to the vet, updates are going to be very slow for the month.  
> *I'm really sorry, guys, and hopefully I'll find the time to update when I can.


	10. In Which a Game of Truth or Dare is Dangerous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “did your shirt just rip?”  
> “Uh… Yes.”

            I stared up at the skeleton, not sure whether to be intimidated or thankful to see him. Why was he here? I mean, I was going to go to his house to see him anyway, but it just seemed slightly more intimidating that he’d actually come _here_. Maybe I did something wrong?

            “Sans? What are you doing here?”

            Sans sighed, shrugging his shoulders. He turned, beginning to walk away. Clearly, he expected me to follow him. I gulped, before quickly catching up so I could walk by his side.

            “i figured i’d walk you home.”

            Now _that_ was odd. No one, especially Sans, came to just walk me home. I was confused as to why Sans suddenly had the urge to do so now? I mean, it seemed weird that he’d just suddenly feel the need to walk with me now.

            “Why?”

            “i’m bored.”

            That seemed slightly more believable, but not completely. I continued to question him.

            “That’s it?”

            The skeleton snorted, looking down in my direction.

            “no, of course that’s not it, doofus,” he teased, “i’ve been asked by queen toriel to invite you to her thanksgiving dinner.”

            I blinked twice, my jaw dropping. I stopped walking, and stared at him. Sans paused, looking at me.

            “what?” he raised a brow bone.

            Why on Earth would Queen Toriel and King Asgore want me at their Thanksgiving dinner? Why did they even celebrate Thanksgiving? I didn’t think they’d grow so easily to our customs.

            “Uh, Sans, you must be mistaken.”

            The skeleton snorted, fully turning his body toward me. He pretended to be hurt, putting a hand over his sternum, feigning shock. He faked a gasp (which resulted in my mind trying to make logic out of almost everything the skeleton did since skeletons, in fact, don’t have lungs).

            “oh, yes, my mistake. i must have walked to the wrong college and must have mistaken you for someone else,” he stated.

            I rolled my eyes, the message going through clear as freshly cleaned glass. I smiled, patting his shoulder blade and continuing to walk. Sans snickered, trailing along beside me.

            “Alright, fair enough. But still… I haven’t been to a Thanksgiving dinner in forever. Besides, why are you guys celebrating it? No offense, but I didn’t think you guys would be celebrating our holidays so early after leaving the Underground.”

            Sans didn’t seem offended, which was good. In fact, he actually explained the whole reason.

            “yeah, i understand. the thing is, we don’t really understand any of it yet. the only thing we actually understand is christmas since that’s the one thing we actually know how to celebrate. the king and queen believe that if we celebrate your guys’ holidays, then maybe the humans will accept us more,” he explained.

            That was fair. In fact, it was actually a pretty damn good idea. It would make them seem more like us, I supposed. Still, I wasn’t a racist, so I didn’t exactly think like one.

            “besides, kiddo, it’d be a nice chance to spend more time with you.”

            My eyes snapped toward him instantly. His eyes flickered, before he was quickly tripping over words to fix the statement.

            “for all of us! they all really liked you so we all want to spend more time with you! plus. toriel is one hell of a cook. man, she can probably make one _killer_ turkey.”

            I smiled, rolling my eyes at him. I nudged his humerus lightly, looking up at the tall monster. He looked down at me, cheekbones tinted a faint cyan color.

            “Thanks, Sans.”

            The skeleton smiled, looking away as an even brighter blush spread across his cheekbones. He raised his arm, hiding his embarrassment behind his sleeve. I smiled, both of us looking ahead at the sidewalk now, falling into a silent. Oddly enough, it wasn’t at all awkward. It was just… nice. It was peaceful.

            My gaze wandered as a very _specific_ black Ford Explorer drove past us, slush from the snow flying at Sans and I from their hurried speed. Luckily (sorry Sans), Sans had taken most of the hit.

            “hey, what the hell!”

            Sans glared at the back of the Ford as it drove away, trying to flick the snow off his sleeves. I helped wipe any other snow or slush, trying to hurry before it soaked too far into his clothes.

            “Shit, Sans, are you okay?”

            I decided not to mention who was in that particular car.

            “yeah, i’m fine, but what the hell is that guy’s problem?” He muttered, annoyance lacing every word.

            I sighed.

            “Let’s go to my place. We’re closer to mine by now anyway. I’ll wash your jacket. It’s soaked.”

            Sans looked at me.

            “you don’t have to. it isn’t like i can feel it anyway.”

            I snorted, rolling my eyes.

            “Don’t be a _jacket_ -ass. Let’s go.”

            I continued walking, feeling his pride even as he stayed behind for a few moments. Clearly, he was impressed by my actually terrible pun.

            My apartment was cold when I entered, a shiver running down my spine. Asclepius was asleep on the couch, not even acknowledging our entry. I patted his head as I passed him, walking to my room.

            “I’ll be right back. I might as well do some of my laundry while I’m down there,” I laughed.

            The skeleton snorted, nodding. He waited in the living room, sitting beside Asclepius and petting him. I gathered up my dirty clothes in a basket, which surprisingly wasn’t very much considering I’d gotten better at doing laundry.

            Frankly, I couldn’t help but pat myself on the back.

            ‘Great job, Adrian.’

            I walked back out, holding the basket. Sans stood up, his jacket laying over his lower arm. He’d probably taken it off so he didn’t soak his shirt. Sadly, his shirt was already soaked and I was pretty sure that neither of us were going to be taking it off.

            The two of us walked to the elevator, taking it down to the laundry area. I threw my clothes and his jacket in a washing machine. I jumped onto the top of the machine, crossing my legs. Sans leaned on the one directly across from mine, crossing his arms. He grinned at me (frankly, when _isn’t_ he grinning?).

            “when doesn’t something go wrong with you?” He teased.

            “Literally never.”

            We both snickered, falling into another silence. This one was slightly more awkward than the last.

            “Wanna play truth or dare?”

            Sans snorted, his eyelights rolling in his skull. He seemed amused at the fact that I’d asked the question.

            “Hey, don’t judge!”

            “hun, if i was going to judge you, it would have been a long time ago.”

            “Fair enough.”

            “ _tibia_ honest, i wouldn’t mind a game of truth or dare. let’s do it,” he smirked.

            “Alright, good. Truth or dare, Sans?”

            “dare.”

            I smirked. Wise choice, Sansy.

            “I dare you to start every washer and dryer in this room.”

            Sans _didn’t even hesitate._ He walked around the entire place, starting every. Single. Washer. And. Dryer. I watched him in amusement.

            “alright!” Sans yelled over the sound of all of them, “truth or dare?”

            Of course, after that amazing show how on EARTH could I say truth? Hell no.

            “Dare!”

            A wide smirk spread across his face. He looked around the room, his mind clearly searching for a good dare. Frankly, I was a bit nervous to what he’d come up with. Sans was a literal genius; it would probably be an amazing dare.

            “alright, kid, i’ll go easy on you! i dare you to turn off every single one of these washers and dryers! i don’t think we can keep shouting over these things forever!”

            Wow, what a letdown. Still, I couldn’t blame him. It was pretty annoying having to shout over all the noise. I walked around the room, repeating his own previous dare but instead turning all machines off, except for the one with our clothes.

            “Alright, done. Truth or dare?”

            “dare.”

            “Hmm… I dare you to… Try to fit into the a dryer.”

            Sans gave me a look which clearly read “really?”.

            “kid, have you _seen_ me? i can barely fit in a car, so there is no way i can fit into a _dryer_.”

            “Good thing I didn’t say you _had_ to fit into one of those. I just said you had to _try_.”

            The skeleton groaned, before walking to the nearest dryer. He opened it, kneeling by the opening, staring inside. He looked at me after a moment.

            “this isn’t happening, kid.”

            “Oh, so this is a forfeit? You’re willing to lose over this?”

            The skeleton glared as I challenged him. A wide smirk immediately spread across my face. There was no _way_ he’d turn me down now.

            “fuck it. let’s do this.”

            I watched him try every possible way to squeeze into the small space. Frankly, he was so big that he could barely fit half his body into the damn thing. Actually, it’s more because of how small the damn things were. In fact, I’m surprised he didn’t get stuck.

            “well, sweetheart,” he panted, sitting on the floor with his legs outstretched, “that is never happening again.”

            We both laughed. I grabbed his hand, helping him to his feet. Before his next question, I switched the now clean clothes over to the dryer, before turning to him and preparing for his next attack.

            “truth or dare?”

            “Dare, Boner.”

            I watched in amusement as he tried not to let his embarrassment show from the nickname I had _lovingly_ given him.

            “i dare you to _fit_ into a dryer.”

            Damn. Shot fired.

            “Uh…”

            Sans smirked widely. He crossed his arms, staring at me, pupils glowing with a daring look in them.

            “oh come on. i know damn well that you can fit into one of these things if you tried.”

            Alright, yes, I probably could fit into one. I was pretty small and it wouldn’t be _too_ hard to fit into one. Okay, yes it would. But fuck it, let’s just go.

            I walked to the nearest dryer. Sans kneeled next to it, watching me. The first few times I couldn’t get in fully, but eventually managed it and was 99% sure afterwards that this was my new home because I was stuck as hell.

            “Well, I’m in.”

            “damn.”

            “I live here now.”

            “adrian…”

            “No, I’m serious. I’m stuck.”

            “shit.”

            Sans grabbed my arm, trying to pull me out. I tried bending my back forward so I could squeeze out, before a loud, audible “RIIPPP” sounded through the entire room. Sans immediately looked at me, and I fell completely silent, my mind frantically trying to find anything to validate the sound for anything that it wasn’t.

            “did your shirt just rip?”

            “Uh… Yes.”

            Once we managed to squeeze me out of the dryer, I had a huge bruise on my shoulder from the indent on the dryer and a rip straight down the middle of my shirt. Good thing I brought extra clothes.

            We stood in an awkward silence, the only sound being the dryer that was currently drying our clothes.

            “Well…”

            “man, the thought of you being stuck in a dryer really _ripped_ my heart strings.”

            Despite both of our complete embarrassment, we both burst into laughter at the pun. By the time we’d finished laughing, our clothes were dry and we were in tears on the floor.

            “Wow, _dare_ I say that I am _truthfully_ honored by the statement?” I smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Guess who's back~?!  
> *Back again~?!  
> *MEEE!! My dog has thankfully made a very speedy recovery and has nothing permanent other than some wicked scars. I'm finally returning to updates after an entire month of being gone!  
> *Also, Happy New Year and Merry *super late* Christmas!  
> *Anywho, I'm finally back from my hiatus and I'm super pumped to continue updating this story on a regular basis. Finals are over, my dog is healed, and it's an entirely new year, so let's do this thing!


	11. In Which Money Ruins Lives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “heya, kiddo.”  
> “S-Sans…”  
> “hey, woah, what? what’s wrong?”  
> “Sans, I need your help…”  
> “i’m coming over.”

            _“Adriaana Wolff!” A woman’s voice screamed throughout the corridors of the mansion._

_Tiny footsteps rang throughout the hall, tapping on the ground. Adriaana rushed to her mother. She saw her parents in the dining room, seated at each end of the table. Their glares were enough to make her anxious._

_“Yes, Mama?” She gulped._

_“What is this about you being a part of the middle school’s choir!? What did we tell you?!”_

_The teenage girl flinched. She kept a straight posture as she spoke._

_“W-Well, the choir teacher said I was a really good singer so I thought-”_

_“You THOUGHT? No, you didn’t think, Adriaana! You never do! All you ever do is act like a selfish little brat!”_

_The woman stood up, storming to her daughter. Adriaana looked at her father for help, eyes wide. He simply watched, not speaking up to defend either person._

_“Mama, I’m sorry…” She gulped._

_A stinging pain quickly followed the words, her head turned to the side from the force of her mother’s hand. Adriaana’s eyes widened. She raised her hand slowly, cupping her cheek lightly as it burned from the hit. She looked up at her mother, lips parted in shock._

_“You AREN’T sorry, you lying brat! Get out of my sight! Tomorrow you will be taken out of that choir and out of that school!” The woman screamed._

_The young girl immediately ran out, holding her cheek, sobbing. She heard her father’s voice pipe up, but had already been too far away to actually understand what he was saying. She curled up on her bed, crying. She was hoping her mother would have been proud of her. She was told she was good at singing and hoped her mother would be proud of her. Now, the thought of impressing her mother was a completely silly thought. That was the day she finally realized she hated her mother._

_“Hun…” Her father’s voice piped up in the doorway._

_Adriaana covered her mouth to stifle her sobs, not looking at her dad. Her back faced the doorway. He sighed, walking into the room. He sat at the edge of the bed, placing a hand on her arm. She shrugged it off._

_“Don’t act like that, Adrian. You know I couldn’t have done anything…”_

_“Y-You could have told her not to hit me…”_

_“Hun, if I did that then she would only have turned on me.”_

_Adrian fell silent, hugging her knees. She stared at the wall as her father continued speaking._

_“You know how much I need her money, Adrian. And I do love you, you know. But the money she gives us is important…”_

_“ **Money**? Money is more important than your **daughter**?”_

_“Adrian, don’t get attitude with me.”_

_She fell silent, her body shaking with hurt and anger. That was the exact moment she had hated her dad. The moment she realized money was more important that her own existence._

“Please, ma’am! Just a few more weeks and I’ll get the money in! I just don’t have enough right now and I have nowhere else to go!”

            “No, Adrian, I warned you five days ago! Either hand over the money, or get out. We can’t keep letting you off the hook so easily. You’re the only person who’s unable to get the money!”

            I stood in the doorway of my apartment, tears threatening to spill down my cheeks. I stared the landlord woman, who was merciless.

            “Miss Rogers, really, I’ll get the money in a few weeks! I just need a job and-”

            “You don’t even have a _job_?!”

            “W-Well, you see, I was just fired recently but I have this new job lined up and I’ll be able to pay you as soon as possible!”

            “No, Adrian, I want you out by tomorrow morning,” the woman hissed, before storming off.

            I finally let the tears stream down my face as I watched her storm off, calling for her to just give me a few more weeks. She flipped me the bird, before disappearing into the elevator. I leaned against the doorway, covering my face. I had _nowhere._ Tomorrow was Thanksgiving and apparently I’d be completely homeless for it.

            Asclepius nuzzled my hand, trying to comfort me like he always did when I was sad. I shut the door, sinking to the floor and hugging him.

            I suppose there were two people I could call for help… But I wasn’t sure if I could ask them do help me with this particular problem. It seemed selfish. They’d already done so much for me and I felt like it would just be rude to ask them for anything more, **_especially_** this.

            Still, I supposed I had no other choice.

            I grabbed my phone, still on the floor. Asclepius laid down, his head on my lap, watching me as I scrolled through my contacts to find a particular number. I hesitated, hand shaking as I stared at the contact name, before finally pressing the ‘call’ button.

            “heya, kiddo.”

            “S-Sans…”

            “hey, woah, what? what’s wrong?”

            “Sans, I need your help…”

            “i’m coming over.”

            “N-No, you don’t-”

            The line went dead and within seconds, there was a skeleton yanking me to my feet, hands on my shoulders. He stared at me intently.

            “what happened? you’ve been crying.”

            I sniffled, using my sleeve to wipe my nose. I felt disgusting. He was completely right. I’d been crying since the landlord had come to kick me out. I probably looked like a complete wreck in front of him. How humiliating…

            “Sans, my landlord she… She’s kicking me out.”

            “huh?”

            “I lost my job and I haven’t made any money to pay my bills or even for any food and I haven’t been able to find a job so I could make any money and-”

            Sans raised his hand, his thumbs brushing over my cheeks and wiping the tears that had begun spilling down my cheeks again. I hadn’t even noticed due to my rambling. He smiled comfortingly, sending blood rushing to my cheeks.

            “calm down, kiddo, you’re gonna be alright. how about you come stay with paps and i? we have that extra bedroom that you can have. besides, it’s a ton safer than this place and free,” he winked.

            I sniffled once more, staring up at him. I bit my lip.

            “S-Sans, I couldn’t…”

            “you can and you will.”

            A small smile spread across my face. I wiped my tears with my sleeves, unable to feel even nearly as terrible as before. Sans always had that way of just… fixing things…

            “when do you need to be out?”

            “Tomorrow morning.”

            “we’ll have you out by tonight. i’ll go pick up papyrus and we’ll help you pack. then, once we get everything moved over, i have a _bone_ to pick with this landlord of yours.”

            I rolled my eyes, lightly punching his humerus. He chuckled, grinning at me, his eyes shining happily.

            “alright, alright, i won’t pick a fight today. i’ll be back in a second. i’ll go explain everything to papyrus and then we’ll both be over to move everything to our place. stay strong, soldier,” he grinned and saluted, before disappearing.

            I giggled, rubbing my arm. Frankly, I couldn’t even be sad anymore. Sans was just as Sansy as ever and I guess I should just appreciate that I was the girl lucky enough to have him in my life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Super short chapter, I know. I'm sorry for the short chapter, but I'm really just trying to make up for all the lost time from this last month.  
> *I'll try to have a super long chapter up tomorrow or in a few days!  
> *For now, I hope you all enjoy this super depressing chapter in which skeletons always manage to make everyone feel better!  
> *(Also, I want to apologize for any mistakes! I haven't had time to edit this or the last chapter!)


	12. In Which Eyes Are a Sensitive Topic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I smiled at all his innocent questions, leaning back against the dresser. I wasn’t sure how to word things so he’d understand. I was certain it would be a very hard concept to explain appropriately.

            I sat on my bedroom floor, stuffing all the clothes I owned into any bag that I could manage to fit it in. Papyrus was on the other side of the room, packing up anything that _wasn’t_ clothing. He’d claimed he didn’t want to touch any of my “girl items”. The statement ultimately just caused the skeleton brothers to both blush and get super awkward, clearly showing that they had never lived or been around a girl before.

            Sans was very kindly ‘porting my items to the house once we had a few bags ready for him. Though, after a while he’d gotten very exhausted and Papyrus had gone into great detail on how much magic it took for him to be doing this. I felt bad for making him do all this. Well… I supposed I wasn’t making him do it, he was technically making himself do it. Either way, his brother and I ended up making the tired skeleton just take a nap. So, Sans was currently sprawled out on my couch _completely_ knocked out.

            I stuffed a shirt in the backpack I was holding, sighing.

            “MISS ADRIAN? MIGHT I ASK YOU A QUESTION?” Papyrus piped up.

            “Yeah, of course, Pap.”

            The skeleton was silent for just a moment.

            “WHY DO YOUR PARENTS NOT HELP YOU PAY? YOU HAVE PARENTS, DO YOU NOT?”

            I paused, a shirt hanging halfway out of the backpack. I stared down at my hands, biting the inside of my cheek.

            “Well, uh, yes, I have parents.”

            “WHY DO THEY NOT ASSIST YOU IN THE PAYMENT?”

            I sighed softly, looking at Papyrus. He was staring at me, the pupils in his eyes glowing with curiousity.

            “Well, um… They don’t really talk to me anymore.”

            “WHY NOT?”

            “They don’t like that I moved here. They would have rather I stayed with them.”

            “WHY?”

            I smiled at all his innocent questions, leaning back against the dresser. I wasn’t sure how to word things so he’d understand. I was certain it would be a very hard concept to explain appropriately.

            “Well, you see, Pap… They didn’t want me to go to college here because of… Well, for their own reasons. They didn’t like that I left them so they told me they wouldn’t help me pay for anything.”

            “WHY DIDN’T THEY WANT YOU TO COME HERE?”

            I couldn’t tell him that it was technically because of _him._ Because of the monsters. I couldn’t do that to him, especially not after everything they’d done.

            “Just because.”

            Well fell into a silence. I awkwardly continued packing up the clothes, looking down as I packed everything up.

            “IS IT BECAUSE OF MONSTERS?”

            I paused, eyes snapping toward him. He was innocently packing up one of my pictures with Asclepius, carefully placing it in the bag he was holding. It seemed that Papyrus knew a lot more than he let on.

            “Uh… Yes, Paps…”

            “HOW COME YOU LIKE US THEN?”

            “Well, I’m not like my parents, I guess. I never have been. Here,” I stood up walking to him.

            The skeleton looked at me curiously. I gestured to my eyes, looking up at him.

            “See my eyes? They’re two different colors, right? You see, my parents hated my eyes. My family was rich and they always thought that I needed to be perfect. My eyes weren’t perfect so they always tried to change me. I promise you, I’m nothing like my parents. I never have been…”

            Papyrus stared down at me.

            “WHY WOULD YOUR PARENTS NOT LIKE YOUR EYES? I THINK THEY MAKE YOU UNIQUE!” He grinned innocently.

            A smile spread across my face. I laughed a bit, before going to continue to pack.

            “Thank you, Papyrus…”

            “DO YOU WANgNA KNOW WHO ELSE REALLY LIKES YOUR EYES?” Papyrus asked.

            I blinked.

            “Who?”

            “S-”

            “hey, guys.”

            We both looked toward the doorway, where a certain skeleton was standing, hands lazily stuffed in the pockets of his jacket. He looked much less tired, his pupils staring at us curiously. He shot a look toward his older brother, one that I couldn’t quite pick up on. Papyrus stuffed the last of the items in the bag.

            “ALRIGHT, LET US RETURN HOME!”

            I was absolutely confused as to what on Earth was going on. One second Papyrus was telling me something, and the next Sans was standing here giving us weird looks.

            “Sans, I thought you were asleep.”

            “i was.”

            “Uh…”

            “SANS, YOU TAKE THE LAST OF THE HUMAN’S ITEMS TO OUR HOUSE AND WE SHALL WAIT HERE FOR YOU TO TAKE US!”

            I blinked, rubbing my arm awkwardly. I eventually just decided to move on from the previous subject and continue on with my life.

            Sans nodded, grabbing the last of the bags and ‘porting out. Damn, I didn’t think I’d ever get used to that. Magic was still so stunning to me… A few seconds later, Sans was standing back in the room, hands stuffed lazily in his pockets. I waited behind, sighing.

            We’d already gotten Asclepius into the house so I was currently completely alone. I looked around the room, seeing nothing but the furniture that had been so _lovingly_ given to me by the previous owners. They’d just left it behind and it now just belonged to the owners of the building itself.

This place was much creepier with nothing but lonely furniture in it…

            I jumped as a skeleton was suddenly standing in front of me, letting out a loud yelp. My hands immediately moved to cover my mouth as Sans began laughing. He hunched over, clutching his stomach. I pouted, punching his humerus (which was ultimately pointless considering he was made of literal _bone_ ).

            “Sans! You jerk!”

            “it isn’t my fault i’m a spooky scary skeleton.”

            “Did you just-”

            “-i did.”

            The skeleton smirked widely, before hooking his arm around my waist and yanking me into the abyss with him. I yelped, grabbing his coat, burying my face against the closest thing to me. There was a soft buzzing of an air vent as the ground was replaced with soft carpet beneath my feet. I realized I was clutching Sans’ blue jacket and my face was buried against his sternum.

            I jolted away instantly, face bright red. I waved my hands frantically.

            “I am **_so_ ** sorry!” I said quickly.

            Sans was standing there with a bright blue skull, coughing awkwardly. He used his sleeve, trying to cover up the blue, a habit I’d noticed that he did quite often. We were standing in the bedroom where all my items were strewn about from where Sans had randomly placed them. Asclepius was laying comfortably on the bed, staring at us curiously.

            “SANS, ADRIAN! STOP FONDOODLING AND START UNPACKING THINGS WHILE I MAKE SPAGHETTI FOR ADRIAN’S FIRST NIGHT HERE!”

            Papyrus had burst into the room, wearing his “Kiss the ~~Cook~~ GREAT PAPYRUS” apron and holding a spatula and a box of spaghetti noddles.

            “we aren’t fondoodling!” Sans protested to his brother, skull only going more blue.

            “JUST UNPACK THINGS ALREADY!”

            Pap gave Asclepius a pat on the head, before stomping off to the kitchen. I coughed awkwardly, watching him go.

            “Why is he cooking spaghetti with a spatula?”

            I hadn’t actually intended to change the subject, but hell the question was really nagging at my brain. Sans snorted, shrugging his shoulders, seemingly grateful for the change in conversation.

            “he likes to change things up.”

            “Okay then,” I snickered.

            I looked around the room, seeing a dresser, a closet, a bed, and a desk. It was decently sized. Definitely better than my old room. I smiled.

            “Thanks, Sans.”

            “huh? for what, kid?”

            “For this. I’d be homeless if not for you.”

            “anytime, kid,” Sans chuckled, “couldn’t just leave you sleeping out on the street.”

            I laughed and the two of us set off to unpack all my things (which truthfully wasn’t that much). I unpacked the clothes while Sans unpacked any pictures, books, or other misc. items.

            The bed was the last thing to do, and once it was made the two of us flopped down onto it, exhausted. I grinned, staring up at the ceiling. The sound of Papyrus yelling at Asclepius to quit chewing his “special attack” echoed throughout the house, along with Sans’ and my own steady breathing was the most comforting thing in the entire universe.

            **_This_** would be forever what I’d rather hear than my old apartment sounds.

            “hey, kid, can i ask you a question?”

            “Mmm hmm…”

            “why’d your parents not like your eyes?”

            I shrugged, my eyes tracing every detail in the ceiling.

            “My mom had OCD, mostly. She hated that I was “asymmetrical”.

            “huh… she definitely wouldn’t like me,” Sans chuckled.

            I watched him bring his hand to the scar beneath his eye socket, pupils focused on the ceiling. I bit my lip, rolling over and onto my stomach. He looked at me.

            “Sans… Can I ask you a question now?”

            From the look on his face I could tell that he already knew what the question was going to be. Still, he nodded and turned his body to face me.

            “What happened to your eye?”

            Sans hummed thoughtfully. His eyes seemed distant. I quickly regretted asking, shaking my head.

            “Hey, don’t worry about answering. I was just curious. If you don’t wanna answer then I totally understand!”

            “nah… it’s just a long story for another time, kid. but i will tell ya one thing. i’m completely blind in my right eye.”

            “Blind? But you have that one pupil.”

            Sans snorted, sitting up. He grinned.

            “man, you humans really don’t know anything about magic, do you?”

            I laughed.

            “Well, we don’t exactly have magic up here.”

            “touché,” he chuckled.

            “SANS, HUMAN! THE SPAGHETTI HAS BEEN PREPARED!”

            I enjoyed the rest of the night with the two brothers. We ate terrible spaghetti, told terrible puns, watched Asclepius eat all the leftovers that Papyrus had “dropped” on the floor (which was really just Papyrus pretending not to show affection to the dog), and ended up falling asleep on the couch to an old and terrible western movie.

            Never before had I been so prepared to face whatever the world threw at me tomorrow. With Papyrus and his attractive brother, I felt like I could face anything. Frankly, the world seemed to actually be lifting me up instead of dragging me down. It was so strange to be in a foreign home, but with Asclepius, Sans, and Papyrus, it felt like the entire world revolved around just the four of us.

 

 

 

 _Wait_ ….

**_Attractive brother?_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *So, Papyrus is much smarter than he lets on and has clearly caught on to why Adrian's parents didn't want her moving there.  
> *Also, what the hell Sans? M8, you can't just interrupt like that... Hmm...  
> *Anywhore, please enjoy this chapter! Don't let whatever is happening in the world drag you down (yes, I'm talking about a certain situation *cough* with a certain YouTuber *cough* Logan Paul *cough*).  
> *Let's just all continue living our lives and be good people who're better than whatever life throws in our faces!  
> //Though, I'm starting to think we all just need a Sans in our life.//


	13. In Which a Deal is Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I immediately felt unbelievably grateful for the skeleton. He must have sensed my nervousness because he seemed to always be the person who seemed to say a pun at the most convenient time. I sighed in relief as everyone moved on to different conversations. I looked up at Sans, who was sitting across from me. He shot me a small smirk and a wink, before returning to eating his food.

            “No, Papyrus, spaghetti is not apart of a Thanksgiving meal.”

            “SPAGHETII IS APART OF EVERY MEAL!”

            “tori specifically texted me asking me to tell you not to bring spaghetti, bro.”

            The tall skeleton groaned, grabbing his pot of freshly made spaghetti and _literally_ throwing it into the fridge before slamming the door shut. He crossed his arms and pouted, staring at Sans and I.

            “WELL WE CAN’T JUST SHOW UP AND NOT BRING SOMETHING!”

            “Wanna learn how to bake cookies?”

            Both skeletons looked at me, blinking. I fidgeted awkwardly, coughing. I tugged at my sleeve.

            “I know how to make cookies. I can, uh, teach you guys?”

            “THAT SOUNDS LIKE AN EXCELLENT IDEA, HUMAN! WHAT WILL WE NEED?”

            I smiled, my nervousness fading. I searched the cabinets and the fridge for the ingredients I’d need. I was surprised to find everything I needed, along with a ton of other random things like unicorn shaped sprinkles. I raised a brow, grabbing the bottle of unique sprinkles and turning to the two skeletons.

            “OH! THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME! I MUST FEED OUR PET ROCK!”

            Papyrus grabbed the sprinkles and dashed out of the kitchen. I looked at Sans, a bit stunned. He shrugged, snickering a bit. Sadly, he didn’t explain. I just decided to move on and continue getting the things I needed. Once Papyrus came in, I began preparing the treats.

            “Just roll the dough like this, see?”

            Papyrus and Sans watched as I rolled the cookie dough into a neat ball between my palms. I set the dough onto a cookie tray, looking at them.

            “Wanna try?”

            “YES! I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO TRY!”

            I handed Papyrus a wad of the dough, watching in amusement as he tried to roll it. The bones of his hands made it hard to roll into a neat ball, giving it a rougher shape than there should have been. Of course, I didn’t say anything. In fact, I didn’t bother to fix the roughness of it. What can I say? I loved the uniqueness of these two skeletons and that included the minor things like a weirdly shaped ball of dough.

            “WHY IS YOURS SMOOTHER THAN MINE, ADRIAN?”

            “probably because we’re made of bone, bro, and she has skin.”

            “AH, YES! I SUPPOSE THE SQUISHINESS WOULD MAKE HERS SMOOTHER!”

            We all fell into a silence after the statement. After a moment of letting the sentence sink in, I covered my mouth to contain my snickers. I tried not to burst out laughing. Sans smacked his hand over his face, a small “click” sound coming from the smack of his bones.

            “don’t say it like that, bro.”

            “WHAT?”

            “uh… ya know, that word.”

            “WHAT WORD?”

            “squishiness.”

            Hearing Sans say it was my downfall. I burst into laughter, both skeletons looking at me in confusion. I hunched over, hands on my knees to support me as I laughed to a point where I was literally in tears. The skeletons watched silently as I laughed, confused. Once I calmed down, I straightened up, wiping my tears, snickering.

            “WHAT IS FUNNY?”

            “That word,” I snickered.

            “WHAT WORD?”

            “papyrus, you know what word,” Sans snickered, rolling his eyes, “anyway, we only have like two hours left until we need to be at tori’s place. how long will these cookies take?”

            “About an hour. You guys just help me roll the dough and it’ll be quicker.”

            With that, the three of us set out to continue making our cookies. Sans and Papyrus ended up putting rubber gloves on after the dough continuously got stuck between their carpals and metacarpals. Eventually, the cookies were in the oven and were being baked.

            “I MUST GO GET READY! TORIEL AND THE KING WISH FOR EVERYONE TO DRESS DECENTLY, SANS! DO NOT GO OUT WEARING SHORTS AND YOUR SWEATSHIRT!” Papyrus ordered, before scrambling off.

            Sans rolled his eyes, watching Papyrus run off.

            “better go get ready, kiddo. gotta go do my makeup.”

            I snorted, rolling my eyes.

            “Yeah, you definitely need it.”

            “oof, i’m wounded,” Sans put a hand over his chest.

            I laughed, shoving him lightly toward the door.

            “OH whatever! Get out of here!”

            Sans laughed, before leaving the kitchen, hands lazily stuffed in his pockets. I left the kitchen after setting a timer on the cookies, walking to my room to get ready. I dug through my clothes for something that could be considered “decent”. I ended up with a pair of leggings and the fanciest shirt I owned (which was just a fancy grey sweatshirt). I braided my hair and put on mascara and some eyeliner.

            Once I looked “decent”, I went to go check on the cookies. Once they were ready, I took them out and put them in a bowl to take to Toriel’s place. I was so excited, honestly. I hadn’t had a real Thanksgiving dinner since… well, since I lived with my parents. Though, I didn’t think that any of those previous Thanksgivings would even get close to coming in as equally amazing.

            “man, pap expects too much from me sometimes.”

            I jumped at the voice, turning around. Sans stood in the doorway of the kitchen, tugging the collar on his dress shirt. Judging by the terribly done bowtie he was wearing, it was evident that Sans didn’t wear fancy clothes often. Well… “fancy” was overdoing it a bit. He was only wearing a white dress shirt with some jeans and sneakers instead of his usual outfit. Still… he looked good.

            I snickered, walking to him. I brought my hands up, swatting his away. I straightened out the black bowtie and loosened it just a bit so it wasn’t strangling him (as if that was even possible for a skeleton. Who knows?).

            “Sans, this is nothing compared to wearing an entire suit,” I joked.

            “pfft, like you would know.”

            I laughed.

            “I’m sure I can take a lucky guess.”

            I backed away to examine my work on his tie, which now looked much better than before. Sans looked down at it, raising a brow bone.

            “how’d you know how to do that?”

            “I’m a rich kid. I learned how to tie bowties and ties when I was six,” I snickered.

            Sans’ gaze moved from my face to the bowl of cookies behind me. He wandered past me, snatching a cookie from the bowl and stuffing it in his mouth. I swatted at his hand, putting cling wrap over the top of the bowl. Papyrus came into the kitchen.

            “SANS! DO NOT EAT THE COOKIES! WAIT UNTIL AFTER THANKSGIVING DINNER!”

            Sans snickered, looking at his brother.

            “i wath tasth testhing it,” he mumbled with a mouthful of cookie.

            I looked over at Papyrus once the cookies were covered. To say he overdid it would be a complete understatement. He was wearing a full-blown tux. He had a maroon tux with a yellow bowtie that looked oddly good. He had fancy shoes and a top hat.

            “man, that hat really _tops_ everything off, doesn’t it, bro?”

            I snorted, grabbing the cookies.

            “Oh shut up,” I laughed, “let’s go before were late.”

            I waved the two out of the kitchen and to the garage. We all piled into the car, with me in the backseat. I held the cookies firmly in my lap as we drove, making sure they didn’t fall. Papyrus was a surprisingly reckless driver, so by the time we’d pulled up to the King and Queen’s house, I was clutching to bowl for dear life.

            Sans snickered, helping me out of the car like a gentleman. He stayed by me, knowing that my heels (though “heels” is definitely an overstatement since they could barely be considered heels) and the icy driveway were definitely not helping with my clumsiness. Papyrus threw open the door, grinning.

            “THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS ARRIVED!”

            “and also sans and adrian,” his brother snickered behind him.

            “Oh, welcome Darlings~!” Mettaton gasped.

            We all walked into the house. I shut the door behind me, looking at Mettaton’s suit. It was almost (if not more) extravagant than Papyrus’. His was white with a pink undershirt underneath, along with pink cuffs on the sleeves and bright pink shoes. I had a hunch on who most likely bought Papyrus’ suit.

            “Hey, Mettaton,” I greeted, grinning.

            The robot grinned and brought me into a tight hug. I coughed, somehow managing to hold the cookies out to keep them from spilling. He released me, blowing a stray strand of hair from my face, before turning to Papyrus. I snickered, rolling my eyes, before walking to the kitchen.

            “Oh! Hello, my child!” Toriel greeted happily.

            I smiled, patting Frisk’s head as I passed her. She was wearing the literally _cutest dress ever_ , and had purple bows in her hair. Toriel was wearing a light purple dress.

            “Hey, Toriel,” I responded.

            “Oh! Did you bring food? You didn’t have to,” Tori gasped.

            I laughed a bit, shrugging. I set the bowl on the counter, taking off the plastic wrap. Frisk peeked over the counter at the cookies. I swatted her hand as she tried to pull a Sans and snatch up a cookie. I smirked at her.

            “Papyrus really wanted to bring something so we made cookies,” I answered her statement from before.

            Toriel laughed softly, continuing to make whatever she was working on.

            “Sounds just like him.”

            “Why were you with Papyrus?” Frisk blurted curiously.

            I blinked, before realizing that the others didn’t know I was now living with them. I awkwardly rubbed my arm, my lip subconsciously moving between my teeth.

            “I uh… Sort of live with them now.”

            Toriel’s eyes instantly darted toward me. She looked…worried?

            “Oh dear! Are you alright? Did something happen?” She asked frantically.

            I felt my cheeks heat up with embarrassment from the _Queen of Monster’s_ worry. I fidgeted, smiling nervously. I began tugging at my sleeves. _Damn, I really need to break that habit._

“Uh, yeah, everything is fine. Well, it wasn’t but it is now. I just… Well, I couldn’t pay my bills so I was kicked out of my apartment…” I said quietly, almost hoping she hadn’t heard me but she definitely did.

            “You could always come stay with us, Dear! We have plenty of room!”

            I was stunned by the offer, my eyes widening. I grinned, looking down at my shoes.

            “I suppose I could ask Sans and Papyrus… You are all so kind to me. I honestly don’t deserve it.”

            I hadn’t meant to say the last part out loud. I just sort of blurted it out and only realized I’d said it when Frisk and Toriel shot me a look of disagreement.

            “That isn’t true, Dear. You’ve been so kind to all of us, especially for helping Alphys against those terrible people.”

            I blinked twice.

            “O-Oh, yeah…”

            Toriel was about to say more, before the kitchen door slammed open and Undyne stomped inside and yanked me into the tightest hug of my life. Damn, these monsters were going to crush my lungs with these hugs.

            “WELCOME BACK, NERD!” Undyne yelled.

            I coughed out a laugh, patting her back awkwardly.

            “H-Hey, Undyne!” I choked out.

            The fish-woman released me. I leaned against the counter, trying to catch my breath. Undyne’s tight hug was followed by a much gentler and shorter one from Alphys.

            “H-Hi, Ad-Adrian!”

            I smiled at the two girls. Undyne was wearing a dark blue man’s dress shirt and black dress pants. Alphys was wearing a cute baby yellow dress and heels that made her taller than me. The outfits honestly matched their personalities perfectly.

            “Perfect timing, ladies! I just finished cooking! Everyone out to the dining room! I’ll bring the food out in just a few moments!”

            Frisk took my hand and led me out of the room, yelling at all the boys to go to the dining room. I snickered a bit as Asgore was showing off the wine he’d bought. He waved at me once he saw me, then held up his wine with a wide grin to show it off.

            I laughed and walked to the dining room with Frisk and the others. I sat between Frisk and Mettaton at the huge dining table. Frankly, the whole room was stunning. There was a huge chandelier above and fancy placemats at each of our seats with utensils and plates neatly set out.

            Frisk nudged me, giggling. I looked down at her.

            “Pretty amazing, right?” She grinned.

            I laughed breathlessly, looking up at the chandelier.

            “Definitely.”

            I shouldn’t have been so stunned by the room. Frankly, this was nothing compared to the dining room in my parent’s house. If my mother was here, she’d be babbling on about how small this room was. Still, I supposed I could simply appreciate the smaller things in life. Besides, this dining room was much…homier. It had pictures of everyone in it, from pictures of Frisk, to the entire group. It was honestly amazing.

            My old dining room only had old, boring paintings. The walls had black wallpaper and the table was this dark wood. There was this eerie fireplace at my mother’s end of the table which my mother had always claimed was built because she was always cold.

            My thoughts broke as my eye caught one particular picture. I blinked twice, almost not believing it. Toriel and Asgore were standing between two small skeletons who I quickly recognized as Sans and Papyrus. Sans was…very small. He had bandages wrapped around the right side of his skull and was wearing the very familiar blue jacket, though it was practically hanging off him like a dress. Papyrus stood beside him, wearing his red scarf. He wore a wide grin and had a hand placed over his brother’s shoulder. He was much taller than Sans, but was still obviously very young. Just over Sans’ shoulder in the picture I could see a faint shadow of something… Was that just Asgore’s shadow…?

            Frisk nudged me as Toriel and Asgore entered, carrying the trays of food. They spread them out over the table. I literally had to force myself not to drool over the food. It smelled and looked absolutely amazing.

            Once Toriel and Asgore were seated, we all began getting our food. We stuffed our plates full of food, and began stuffing our mouths after everyone was ready to eat, occasionally making small talk.

            “So, Papyrus mentioned how you moved in with him and Sans, Adrian. Can I ask how that happened?” Mettaton questioned.

            Sans and I visibly stiffened. We glanced at each other. I swallowed my food, awkwardly poking at my corn.

            “Wait, what? You’re living with Sans and Papyrus?” Undyne asked loudly, her mouth full with food.

            “H-Honey, swallow…” Alphys mumbled to her girlfriend, embarrassed.

            Undyne swallowed and repeated the question even louder than before. I snorted a bit, wiping my mouth with my napkin. I nervously fidgeted with it in my lap.

            “Kind of a long story,” I laughed awkwardly.

            “Well spill it, Nerd!”

            I rolled my eyes, smiling. All eyes were on me at this point.

            “Well, um, I got kicked out of my apartment,” I started anxiously.

            “KICKED OUT?! BY WHO, I’LL KICK THEIR ASS!”

            “H-Honey, watch y-your language,” Alphys grumbled.

            I almost smiled as Alphys guided her girlfriend.

            “Well, I lost my job so I couldn’t pay bills. Thank god for Sans…” I laughed awkwardly.

            “Fired?” Mettaton almost seemed shocked.

            I was getting seriously anxious by all these questions. Every time I answered, I felt like I was digging myself into a deeper hole of embarrassment. I hated telling everyone how I was fired. It only made me seem like an unworthy person to be sitting here with all these amazing people.

            “guys, _throw her a bone_ here,” Sans piped up, poking at his food casually.

            I immediately felt unbelievably grateful for the skeleton. He must have sensed my nervousness because he seemed to always be the person who seemed to say a pun at the most convenient time. I sighed in relief as everyone moved on to different conversations. I looked up at Sans, who was sitting across from me. He shot me a small smirk and a wink, before returning to eating his food.

            I felt my cheeks redden and immediately looked down at my food, a small smile on my face as I continued with the rest of my dinner.

            Soon enough, most of the men had gone to drink their wine, smoke, or do whatever men do. I sat with Toriel, Alphys, Undyne, Frisk, and Mettaton in the living room simply talking.

            “So, Adrian, darling… I happened to notice the little wink Sans sent you earlier...~” Mettaton began slyly, “do you two have a _fling_?”

            My cheeks immediately went red. I coughed, trying to cover up the immediate embarrassment that followed the question. I crossed my legs.

            “Uh, no, not a chance.”

            “I highly doubt that~!” Mettaton laughed.

            I groaned, rolling my eyes. I uncrossed my legs. Undyne smacked a hand on my shoulder, making me yelp in surprise. I rubbed my shoulder as it burned a bit, snickering a bit, my cheeks red.

            “I bet you ten bucks that within the next two months you and Sans will be smooching all over each other!” She yelled.

            I frantically waved my hands, trying to quiet her down so Sans wouldn’t hear her.

            “Undyne, shush!” I laughed.

            The fish-woman laughed loudly, rolling her eyes. She elbowed me lightly in the side, wiggling her eyebrows.

            “I must agree with Undyne,” Toriel joined, “I can see you and Sans together.”

            I couldn’t keep the blush from my cheeks, but also didn’t try to deny any of their accusations. Frankly, the thought of Sans and I being together was… nice. It was definitely something I’d… uh… Be happy with.

            “Guys, stop!” I whined, hiding my face with my sleeves.

            “Look! She does the same embarrassment thing as Sans! This is a sign!” Mettaton gasped, laughing.

            Frisk jumped up, holding her arms out wide. She began jumping on the couch, bouncing in a circle.

            “Sans and Adrian sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes the love, then comes the marriage, then comes Adrian with the baby carriage~!” She sang loudly.

            I groaned, keeping my face covered as my face burned with complete embarrassment. I snickered into my sleeves as Undyne joined in on the teasing, all of us laughing.

            “adrian, you ready to--- uh, what’s going on…?”

            My heart immediately sank as I heard Sans’ deep voice. I quickly lowered my sleeves, trying to act like a normal human being for once. I coughed, crossing one leg over the other, looking at the very confused skeleton.

            The girls also fell silent, Frisk quickly sitting down. She looked at Sans, grinning innocently.

            “Nothing~” She sang.

            Judging by the lack of a blush on his cheeks, I assumed that Sans didn’t know the teasing involved him. Thank god he hadn’t heard them…

            “uh…”

            I stood up quickly, laughing nervously.

            “Don’t worry about it!”

            Sans blinked, clearly very confused. He fidgeted, loosening his bowtie.

            “okay…? um, anyway… pap is kind of already drunk so we better get him home before things get weird,” he snickered.

            “I like weird~” Mettaton wiggled his eyebrows.

            I snorted, rolling my eyes and playfully kicking his shin. Sans only got uncomfortable afterward, hands stuffed in his pants pockets awkwardly.

            “i’ll meet you in the car!” He said quickly, before wandering off.

            I rolled my eyes, looking at Mettaton.

            “I’ll make you a bet,” I began, smirking.

            “Oh yeah? And what would that be, Darling~?” He hummed, his smirk widening.

            “I bet YOU ten bucks that you and Papyrus will be together _before_ Sans and I, which won’t ever happen. And, if Sans and I happen to get together before you, then I owe you ten bucks.”

            “Darling, ten bucks is nothing. How about I’ll owe you an entire vacation to wherever you want to go without you paying for ANYTHING. Or, which will be the more likely option, you’ll have to wear a bright pink, poofy princess dress to dinner with me in my restaurant.”

            Damn, how could I turn that down? I was obviously going to win that bet, and I definitely wouldn’t turn down. I smirked, holding out my hand to the robot.

            “Deal.”

            Mettaton smirked widely, all the other women watching as he put his hand in mine and shook on it.

            “You have yourself a deal, Darling~”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Here you go everyone! Have this huge 3,419 word chapter!  
> *Yeah, I did reveal just a bit more information about Sans and Papyrus involving the picture in the dining room. Does that count as information? I think so...?  
> *And, what do you think the shadow is from *wink**wonk*?  
> *Anywho, enjoy the chapter! I'll try to have another one up by tomorrow because why the hell not? It isn't like I have a life anyway...  
> **awkwardly shuffles away*  
> //Also, please continue to ignore any mistakes. I've been lazy and my motivation to edit these has just not been going well for me XDD//


	14. In Which Blood is Spilled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I felt his eyes on me as I walked. I wished I’d said more to him before I entered the school. It would have made everything that happened next much easier…

            If there was one thing that I was absolutely the worst at – It is definitely trying not to be awkward. After the whole situation with Mettaton at Thanksgiving, I’ve practically been the most flustered person when I’m around Sans. To say I wasn’t interested in him would be a complete lie.

            Why was I attracted to a **_literal_** skeleton? Yeah, I don’t know either.

            Now to a change of subject, over the last two weeks, I’ve been doing everything in my power to make sure Mettaton and Papyrus get together. And no, it isn’t just for the free vacation. It’s mostly just because Mettaton and Pap would be adorable together. And, I was also 100% certain that Mettaton was playing the same game I was.

            For example…

            One week ago, I was sitting at lunch with Mett, Pap, Frisk, and Sans. We were having a good old time like we always did when we were together, before…

            “So, Adrian, when did you say you wanted to go shopping for that dress again?”

            I coughed, nearly choking on my drink. I quickly swallowed, looking at Mettaton with a confused look. Before I could speak, he of course had to interrupt me.

            “You need to buy a dress for the date, Adrian! That guy you were going with was _hawt_ with a ‘w’,” he smirked.

            It took me about ten seconds before I realized what he was getting at. He was literally attempting to make Sans jealous. Pap, Sans, and Frisk sent each other confused looks.

            “you have a date?” Sans questioned.

            Mettaton shot me a wink. I fidgeted.

            “Uh…”

            “Yes, she does. He’s so hot. You don’t even know,” Mettaton gasped.

            I saw an opening for my escape **_and_** my revenge, immediately taking it.

            “The way you talk about him makes it seem like you’d much rather go on the date than me. You know, Mettaton, you could always take my place. I don’t really need to go. If you like him so much then I’d love to trade places.”

            Mettaton immediately saw his mistake and quickly got flustered. He coughed, rolling his eyes. Still, anything he said wouldn’t dig him out of this hole.

            “Oh, no, darling. I couldn’t,” he stated.

            “Oh, but I believe you could! I mean, when he asked me he was practically ogling you anyway. He wouldn’t dare choose someone like me over you!” I stated.

            I almost felt guilty. Papyrus looked _visibly_ disappointed. Still, I couldn’t turn back now. Besides, this was totally going to work.

            “YOU HAVE A DATE, METTATON?”

            “Oh no, Darling! He’s Adrian’s date!” Mettaton defended.

            “BUT SHE SAID-”

            “pap, i think they were joking,” Sans piped up.

            I looked at him. He shot me a look. He wasn’t angry or anything. In fact, he almost looked amused. The look was more like one of those looks that showed he clearly knew what I was trying to do with the Mettaton and Pap situation. I hoped he hadn’t caught on so easily to Mettaton’s attempt at our own situation.

            Situation with Sans and I? Ehhhh… I wasn’t sure if I should call it a situation. There wasn’t really a situation to begin with. It was just a weird thing in my head and nothing more.

            Returning to the present, I was currently walking with Sans to my class since my break was eventually over. Sadly, I now had to return to the creepiest class in existence. Thankfully, Sans had taken it upon himself to walk me to class instead of me having to ask him. It wasn’t that I had a problem with asking him. I just would have felt guilty, I suppose.

            It was now December, and frankly, the weather had taken a quick turn from the fairly decent weather to freezing cold. It snowed, so the streets were once again covered in a thick layer of white. Not only was the weather a killer, but so was this month. I loved Christmas and I was excited to spend it with the skeleton brothers, but every day closer to the holiday meant another day closer to my finals. And finals never went well for anyone.

            “so, kid, what was up with the other day?”

            I blinked.

            “Huh?”

            Sans sighed a bit. He looked at me, grabbing my shoulder lightly and keeping me from walking any further.

            “the guy who was driving you to class that one morning. who was that?”

            Oh gosh. Oh shit. Oh shit, oh fuck. Okay, calm down, Adrian. It isn’t a big deal. This was the whole reason you wanted Sans to walk with you. Now Mr. Creepy-As-Fuck couldn’t follow you around anymore. In fact, he didn’t even know where you currently lived.

            “Well, uh… Well, he’s just my professor.”

            “your professor picked you up?”

            Yeah, even when it was said out loud it was creepy.

            “Yeah…”

            “you know he’s the same prick who splashed that slush all over me, right?”

            Sans was clearly a lot more observant than I ever gave him credit for. I mean, I knew he was observant. He was… Well, he was Sans, I suppose. I couldn’t exactly think of any other way to describe him.

            “Yeah… I’m sorry about that…”

            Sans sighed, running a hand over his face. He continued walking, leaving me behind. I bit my lip, catching up with him. He was angry.

            “so now i have a problem with some guy i don’t even know? why didn’t you tell me you already had some guy driving you around?”

            “He wasn’t already driving me around, Sans.”

            “right, because you totally weren’t in the car with him earlier that morning…”

            “I wasn’t! I mean, shit, I was, but it wasn’t like that!”

            “like what?” He snapped.

            “It wasn’t like… Ugh, I don’t know… He’s just creepy, alright?”

            “tch…”

            We fell into silence once again. This time, though, I was much less peaceful than before. He was mad, and I couldn’t really blame him. I’d dragged him into some weird man-drama with my creepy professor. I hadn’t meant to, honestly. Still, I should have been more careful.

            We walked the rest of the way to the school in a stiff silence, Sans trailing ahead of me by a few feet. He had his hands lazily stuffed in the pockets of his jacket.

            “Thanks for walking me…” I muttered, walking past him and toward the school.

            I felt his eyes on me as I walked. I wished I’d said more to him before I entered the school. It would have made everything that happened next much easier…

            I sighed as I entered the classroom. There weren’t many people here. Shit, I’m early. I sighed, sitting where Alphys and I usually sit. I pulled out my laptop, sighing as my fingers tapped on the keys.

            I’d only managed to type in the beginning of an essay before the screen was slammed down on my hands. I quickly yanked them out, looking up at the culprit. To my horror, there stood Jason Andrews in all his fucked up glory. He smirked, grabbing the collar of my shirt and yanking me up to a point where only the tips of my toes could touch the floor. We were face to face, my eyes wide in actual fear.

            “W-Welcome back, Jason-”

            “Oh shut the hell up, two-face,” he snapped, “let’s go handle our problems like actual friggin’ adults, shall we?”

            To my horror, him and his gang began dragging me out of the classroom. I tried to shove him away, struggling.

            “Shit!” I yelled, tears welling in my eyes.

            No one else in the class came to my aid. They all just watched in silence. Alphys and the professor weren’t here so I had absolutely no one.

            Once we were out of the building, I was thrown down onto the concrete of the sidewalk. My hands scraped against the rough surface. A foot was thrown in my direction, colliding with my stomach. I coughed, laying on the ground, clutching my stomach. Fuck, I was getting my ass kicked and I didn’t even have the chance to fight back.

            “P-Pretty low to beat up a girl without giving h-her a chance to kick your a-ass…” I snapped.

            “You stupid bitch!”

            Jason kicked me in the face. Blood filled my mouth from the impact. I spit out blood, surprised when I hadn’t lost any teeth. Must’ve bit my cheek…

            “You didn’t hit hard enough…” I muttered.

            Jason grabbed the collar of my shirt, slamming me against the nearest wall. I hissed as the brick dug into my back. Jason glared, shaking with anger.

            “You just don’t ever know when to shut your mouth, do you, filthy monster lover!?”

            “I-I guess not,” I snapped my leg up, kneeing him right in the balls.

            Jason stumbled back, letting me go. I gripped my side in pain, eyes narrowed. He growled, clenching his fists. He stormed toward me, raising a fist and slamming it into my face. I coughed, eyes wide. I quickly grabbed my jaw, hunching forward. Jason kicked me in the back and onto the sidewalk. I landed on my hands, groaning in pain. He grabbed my hair, forcing me to look at him.

            “You’re disgusting; you know that? Everyone knows you’ve been sleeping with those stupid monsters, Adriaana Wolff. You disgusting freak…”

            I bit down on my swollen lip, staring at him, tears in my eyes. I knew I should have kept my mouth shut. Still, as previously proven, I couldn’t help but have the last word.

            “A-At least I’m not as disgusting as you…”

            His grip tightened on my hair. I immediately knew I’d made a mistake the moment the words left my mouth. I didn’t have enough time to regret it, before my head was slammed down onto the concrete, knocking me out completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A much darker chapter than what I've been publishing. I think the next few chapters might be a bit dark, but that could change depending on how they go.  
> *Please enjoy everyone :P

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by the amazing comic Handplates, created by Zarla. I honestly loved the comic, and got a few ideas of my own to turn it into a book. So, hopefully everyone enjoys!
> 
> * UNDERTALE and it's characters do not belong to me, but instead to the amazing Toby Fox.
> 
> //This story has been DISCONTINUED! No, I am not interested in anyone taking over the writing for it. Sorry!


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